Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon 750ml

Wild Turkey traces back to Kentucky's Ripy brothers, who arrived from Ireland in 1851, and Austin Nichols, a wine and spirits merchant whose company later took over the operation. The name itself supposedly originated in 1940, when an Austin Nichols executive brought barrel samples on a wild turkey hunting trip, and friends kept asking for more of "that wild turkey bourbon." Jimmy Russell joined the company in 1954 and, after Austin Nichols acquired the Boulevard Distillery in Tyrone, Kentucky in 1971 and renamed it Wild Turkey Distillery, Russell took full control of production, going on to become the longest-tenured active master distiller in the industry before passing the role to his son Eddie Russell in 2015.

Wild Turkey 101 uses the distillery's single house bourbon mash bill, a high-rye recipe, along with the same yeast strain Wild Turkey has used since at least the 1950s and the deepest number 4 alligator char on every barrel. The whiskey enters the barrel at 115 proof and ages longer than the legal minimum in American white oak before being bottled at 101 proof, the number that gives the bourbon its name and one of the higher standard bottling strengths on the market.

The nose brings toffee and caramel with a noticeable alcohol lift, layered with vanilla, baking spice, toasted oak, and a touch of orange zest. On the palate, vanilla, maple, and cinnamon balance against oak and rye spice, with the high-rye mash bill keeping the profile from tipping too sweet. The finish runs long and warming, closing on lingering spice and dry oak that gradually fades.