Proof: 110

Age: 8yr 9m

Distillery: Wild Turkey

Mashbill: rumored to be 75/13/12

Price: $65

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Nose: Allspice, apricot, raisin, cherry, sweet toasted oak, strong vanilla, sweetened pipe tobacco, nutmeg, dark chocolate.

Taste: Velvety/tannic. Nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, toffee, cardamom, leather, pipe tobacco, molasses, butterscotch, brown butter, toasted oak.

Finish: Nutmeg, cinnamon, and bold toffee hit the front of the palate, with rich brown sugar, leather, and oak tannins. Raisin, brown butter and molasses hit next showing off the rich dessert qualities of the barrel.

Some oak tannins are present with just a slight dryness of the palate, followed up with sweet toasted oak, and fresh pipe tobacco.

Caramel, nutmeg, and just a hint of bitter dark chocolate peak out towards the end before rounding itself out with some vanilla and cherry syrup.

A lot of depth to this finish, but overall falls off rather quickly. I can’t knock the finish too hard because it is a flavor bomb of a pour and I keep wanting to go back for more. The taste outweighs the finish length here and I’ll allow it!

Overall: given I paid $65ish when I picked this bottle up – it scored slightly higher given todays prices of $80 + for these picks. I am a huge Turkey fan, with probably 40 or more RR picks in my possession, I would say I am willing to put quality of the brand first when the price increases. Given how much some people resell these for – $82 isn’t bad by todays standards of $10 a year from most other brands. The prices today reflect the current economy and the struggle to get materials needed

The profile on this pick is much more sweet and baked goods on the taste and nose than most others that I have. This to me is an “off profile” Turkey pick where I am usually getting that strong bitter oak, heavy baking spice, and funk. This surprisingly lacks that “funk” but I still love it.

The finish could be longer and part of me wishes it had those heavy musty funk notes to it, but this is why I love single barrels – THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT! Great job on Chris for selecting a damn fine barrel of Turkey for this pick. Being less than 9yrs old, the sweet oak, pipe tobacco, and leather really hold up well with the dried fruit and brown sugar.

Rating: 7.9/10

Value Rating: 8/10

Total Score: 7.95/10