Wild Turkey Rye 101

Nose is vanilla, light spice, grass, and oak. Taste is dry, herbal grass, light sweetness, and classic rye spice. Finish is slightly sour, spicey, and oak Need to revisit without a nose stuffed by allergies.

I just realized I never reviewed this, and then I realized that pretty much summarizes the review. It's different than WT 101 by a fair amount, and yet it's not quite rye enough for me to reach for it instead of, say, Knob Creek rye or Jim Beam pre-prohibition rye. It sits in a weird middle ground where you can taste the dill and mint, but they're so faint as to be detracting, and yet it amplifies that WT grape funk in a way that is just too much of a good thing. I know that a lot of folks love it, but I'll be sticking to the regular 101 as my house whisky.

It gets better the more I drink it. Medium sized body. Nose is oak and vanilla with a slight tint of ethanol. Palette starts with a slight burn. Then transitions into caramel and vanilla. Finishes with that rye spice and a bit of shortbread cookie.

Nose: I often get dill on the nose of many ryes, and this one does it for sure. And green apple Jolly Rancher. Palette: Pretty drinkable. Nice and sweet with classic rye notes. Finish: Finishes as it starts, with a bit of wood spice. A few drops of water rounds it out.

Poured neat. Sweet mint gum, spiced oak and hay on the nose. First sip is punchy, sweet and dusty. It's like a nice warm bowl of over-spiced apple cinnamon oatmeal. Mouth feel is buttery, and finish fades to a mild tobacco flavor. Overall a very enjoyable pour. Will be hard to talk myself out of grabbing a few more bottles when I see it again!

Good rye for a mixer. Not one I’d get for drinking neat.

I think this is better than the 101 bourbon. Spicy as a rye should be but sweet. Surprisingly enjoyable. No more than one cube if you must. I enjoy more than the “expert” did.