Wild Turkey Rare Breed WT 01-96
Official Bottling | 54.4% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some Promise.
TL;DR
Sometimes gems lurk at the back of your whisky cupboard
Forgotten Whiskey Lies In Wait
With the recent news that the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance had been found 3km below the surface of the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic, comments on social media quickly turned to thoughts if any of his whisky had survived, other than the supplies that were found under the hut* that was built for his 1908 Antarctic expedition. This blend was later recreated by Richard Patterson of Whyte & Mackay fame, but my thoughts started to turn to lost whisky of another kind.
I usually keep my prized whiskies hidden in a safe refuge, especially the open ones, as I don’t want my wife finishing off something I’ve spent a relative fortune on rather than the supermarket Glenfiddich she would be happy with. I learned my lesson quickly after she finished off a rare Bruichladdich that now fetches more than £350 at auction. As I have a few bottles nearing completion, I thought it would be a good time to see what ‘common’ whiskies I had open on the bottle shelf of my living room sideboard.
Among the detritus of whisky bought at the local supermarket, I found three bottles of Wild Turkey: Two of the 43% ABV bottles were unopened, while a Wild Turkey Rare Breed that I’d purchased while working in the US in 1998 was also there. I’d had two or three drams out of the Rare Breed when I returned home, and that was it. Unearthing it, I knew immediately I needed a bottle to transfer it to if the whisky was worth saving, as the chances of the cork being good were nil. As I attempted to remove the impressive wooden stopper, it came away in my hand all too easy, with a large proportion of the cork remaining in the bottle. And thus started the often repeated task of getting the funnel and coffee filter papers out so I could decant my whiskey into a recently killed bottle. The Rare Breed just looked out of place in a former Scotch bottle, so I endeavoured to get the original bottle back in play so the spirit could look more at home.
So, had the time in storage done any harm to the spirit? After the initial tastings I was unsure – I bought this bottle way before I took a serious interest in whisky. Indeed my interest in Wild Turkey only came after I saw a band called The Wild Turkey Brothers supporting The Levellers in the 90s. Seeing a bottle of Wild Turkey in a bar after the concert was all it took to get my interest going. As it had been nearly 24 years since the bottle was opened, it would have been impressive had I remembered anything of the original taste. I would have to say on the first sips from the bottle, it was clear that little to no evaporation had taken place – this was definitely a cask strength whiskey. By all accounts it would seem to be that I had gotten away with my neglect.
“It’s become a worldwide drink. And when I first going overseas, Scotch was all on the top shelf. Now, especially in Asia, the bourbon is on the top shelf.”
I then wondered how many others have forgotten drams, bottles that were opened once and then discarded? I was sure my Wild Turkey Rare Breed was not a unique case. While I may not have a lot of open bottles compared to some of you lovely people reading this, we all must have bottles that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. I’m not a great bourbon appreciator given that I am spoilt for choice by living in an area that has the largest concentration of Scotch distilleries, but I feel this one by its very merit as a survivor needs to be seen through its intended journey to bottle kill rather than getting poured down the sink. Now that I know a lot more about whisky than I did when I bought the bottle, I’m hoping I can appreciate the spirit more than I would have done when I bought it all those years ago.
I was desperately hoping the fact that I had kept the bottle upright, out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources could be the saving grace for this bottle, otherwise it may just have to be used as a pleasantly scented drain cleaner.
*Geek fact: The hut was known as the Nimrod Hut; Shackleton and Nimrod were later to be names used for UK long range maritime surveillance aircraft.
Review
W-T-01-96, 54.4% ABV
Best option is auction for this older bottling
It would be inaccurate to say this bottle had been forgotten as I had always known it was there. This is a trap the unwary whisky geek can fall into when there are more exciting things crossing your path. I often get scoffed at by American work colleagues when asked about my taste in whiskey from their side of the Pond, as Wild Turkey is often seen as nothing more than bottom shelf supermarket whisky. While I appreciate there may be finer bourbons available, this brand was my first on the journey. So many things could have been wrong with this spirit after so long but also due to it being an almost full bottle, there were many things that could be good about it also. Either way, curiosity wasn’t going to let me sit about much longer wondering about it.
Nose
Dusty wood, acetone, dark stone fruit, vanilla, fudge, McCowans Highland Toffee.
Palate
Quite sharp on arrival – caramel with a heavy wood taste. Black cherries and blackberries with aniseed are present. I detect a slight vegetal note. There’s a bit of heat here, with a peppery spice. This is held throughout the finish which continues on the cherry and aniseed theme with a bit of cinnamon. It’s a bit tannic and is very dry in the mouth and leaves a slightly dusty aftertaste. Water subdued the wood but not completely.
Last Dregs
After so long sitting in the cupboard, this bottle wasn’t ready for a review straight away – the bottle needed to sit for a couple of hours to let it breathe. It was a bit of a mixed bag. While I taste the familiar flavours so often experienced from a bourbon cask, there is also a hint of something else. I have to think about the dominant wood here, and to me it’s off balance. Whether or not this is as a result of leaving the bottle in the cupboard for so long and left traces of old bottle effect, I don’t know. I would conclude that perhaps I got away with not having to waste this whiskey, but crucially I have missed consuming this bourbon in its prime. Perhaps I’ll notice an improvement as the bottle goes down further. Let this be a cautionary tale for all of you who have forgotten whiskies on the shelf.
Score: 4/10
Wally’s Notes
Nose
Emulsion paint, solvent and creosote. Not unpleasant(!) Sweep syrup and brown sugar. Flat cherry cola. Blackcurrant cough sweets, like Halls Soothers. Wood polish fights with a lightly savoury note, like honey or maple-cured bacon, a sweet and thick oaky resinous note blankets everything, but there’s a bizarre fusty dunnage note. I kinda like the nose on this one.
Palate
A soft and thick arrival quickly switches on you, dumping a big hit of chilli pepper heat. Overall it’s thinner than it promised on the nose, and flatter too. Sweet cinnamon and ginger, toffee apples and brown sugar notes, a mild butteriness gives way to a short and resinous oak finish, bitterness prevails. The palate didn’t deliver as much interest as I’d hoped.
Score: 4/10
Score: 6/10
Good Stuff.
TL;DR
Fresh Turkey more delicious
Review
Wild Turkey Rare Breed 2021, 58.4% ABV
£price & availability
I was left with a bit of a dilemma after tasting my old Wild Turkey, and it was an itch that I knew I’d have to scratch sooner rather than later. The only way I was going to find out how much my old WIld Turkey bottling had deteriorated was either to take a measurement of the abv or simply just buy an up to date bottling of Wild Turkey Rare Breed. Let’s face it, I didn’t really need an excuse to buy another bottle of whisky, although I was wondering what I was going to do with another bottle of bourbon when nowadays my focus is myopically set to Scotch. But as an old boss of mine was fond of saying “Don’t give me pain, just give me the babies”, I knew that I had to get myself into finding solutions to the problem rather than worrying about the pain it may cause in the future.
Nose
Charred wood, caramel, vanilla, runny honey, orange rind, cherry, grain store.
Palate
Immediately sweet on arrival, with the honey coming to the fore. Caramelised brown sugar, vanilla, cherries, milk chocolate. Wood notes with a peppery heat, a more noticeable alcoholic kick, but still balanced and not rough at all. It gives a medium length finish, a bit of solvent, hints of leather, with more sweetness followed by cherries, oak, slightly floral towards the end.
The Dregs
Without a doubt, between the two bottlings, the newer one was definitely the fresher one, but it wasn’t as much of a one horse race as you may imagine. The older spirit has spent a lot longer in glass, so I am wondering how much of the taste has been affected by this. There wasn’t the same old bottle effect as I am so used to in my other guise when I am exploring spirits from eras long gone. The new bottle has flavours that are punchy and in your face and deliver the knockout blow that the old one may have been capable of in the past, but sadly its glory days have faded.
Not that a drinker should get maudlin about the things that have fallen by the wayside. The older drink could still hold its own against many other whiskies and should not be discounted. If anything it gives hope to those who have had a bottle open then forgotten about it for years. As long as it has been stored correctly, the cork has held its seal and the bottle isn’t too empty then you should still be in with a chance of enjoying your whisky.
Of course, it’s better not to forget about them in the first place!
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. KD
Wally’s Notes
Nose
More vibrant on the nose, a little brighter with a chilli heat prickle. This is more jagged, more detailed perhaps but also a little more ‘closed’. Coming back after a while helps, but there’s less richness than the 1990s nose. Light confectionary comes forward, strawberry bon bons and cinnamon chewing gum. Some solvent, but lighter and more in check.
Palate
Much more detail here. Initially it feels a little less hot too(?) There’s cinnamon and ginger but it feels fresher; like root ginger. Caramel toffees, Werther’s Originals and a lovely minty fresh kick. Short to medium finish with far more grip and communication on the way out. Fades to a lightly bitter oak and Cherry-menthol Tunes. I love my confectionery eh?
The Dregs
I’m both surprised and not. The nose on the 1990s sample was so inviting, it led me to believe I was in for a rich and decadent experience, but it ultimately fell bizarrely flat on the palate. I like my bourbons alive and communicative, hence why I’m always drawn to barrel strength. That was delivered somewhat with the contemporary expression, despite a less flattering nosing experience. So, I suppose, I could nose the old one and drink the new one, but the thing that’s less surprising is just how different they actually are. Both are clearly bourbons, but just like any whisky - over time or in a glass bottle - there’s going to be huge shifts and that’s on display here. I’d be okay with both on the bar, honestly, but I wouldn’t swap out many of my existing bottles to have them. Interesting experience though.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. WM
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