Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon - 81

Nose: The nose is mild and fairly sweet. There is a raisiny fruitiness to it. I also picked up a little bit of sweet corn. Palate: The first sip was milder than I expected. It is pretty mellow with a pleasant, very light sweetness. The mouthfeel is also pleasant but on the light side This is an easy drinker but not at all complex. There’s not much variety going on as far as different flavors, but I did pick up on some nice dark cherry and butterscotch flavors. It has a very mild warmth that shows up right before the finish and then quickly dissipates in the rather short finish. This would probably be a good candidate for introduction to a non-bourbon drinker or for the novice bourbon fan. That said, even if you’ve been drinking bourbon for a while, you’ll appreciate it for what it is…a simple, easy to drink bourbon that you could easily use as a daily drinker or as a cocktail ingredient. I think fans who enjoy bourbon on the sweeter side will like this more than rye heavy fans will. I didn’t pick up on a lot (or any, really) rye spice. Comments: I was a bit surprised that I had not reviewed this yet. This is one of the few “big boys” as far as sales are concerned (although….they probably sell more 101), so it certainly has its fans. I was curious, so I went back and read my review of the Wild Turkey 101. I was quite shocked that the 101 left a very heavy rye impression, because this does not. I don’t know what to tell you…..I can’t explain this. The 81 version has rye in the mashbill - 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley. It is reported to be in the 4 year old range by one source and 6-8 by others. It won’t set you back much…Total Wine sells it for $20.50. Please note that they don’t call this Wild Turkey 81 any more….it is now Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon and the label is different. This change took place in 2016.