I don’t drink much bourbon and wouldn’t know a Wild Turkey if it bit me on the ass, but this legendary bottling from the 1980s is wonderful. There’s a narrow set of flavors that I like in bourbon along with several that I don’t and this one hits the bullseye. The nose is a glorious mix of cherry and polished rosewood. There’s a brief and bonkers hit of funky cheese grits on the first sip and then a seamless segue into brown sugar and cinnamon that lingers for hours. I was reveling in the aftertaste of this until bedtime. And as I mentioned, it’s all the better for what it doesn’t taste of: no corn, cream, vanilla or white sugar. This is as good as any Pappy I’ve had and delivers as much flavor as a WL Weller at a far more palatable proof. I don’t think I could ever declare a Scotch perfect given how complex the category is, but in the narrow spectrum of flavors that define bourbon this is as good as it gets.