Wild Turkey 101-proof Rye

The universe finally conspired to place me, $23, and a bottle of Wild Turkey 101-proof Rye in the same store.

Got it home, uncorked it, dropped in an ice cube, swirled for a bit (have to get that alcohol content down below 35%, ya know), and baby, this is the shiznit. For Ryes.

I like rye. It's the original American whiskey. It's a lot like Irish whiskeys (which are mostly rye-based, natch). It won't supplant your nicer bourbons or scotches, but it fits a middle ground between sweetness and peatiness that sometimes comprises exactly what you want.

I've been drinking Jim Beam rye for over a decade, and sometimes it takes a steely resolve. I liken its bouquet to that of a working automotive garage.

But this Wild Turkey is gorgeous.

That's not true, either. Bourbon is a product of the United States, and can only be made here -- but it can be made in any state. You can read about the labeling and advertising of distilled spirits in the Code of
Federal Regulations at http://www.access.gpo.gov ; 27CFR5, Sec 5.22 states: "That the word ''bourbon'' shall not be used to describe any whisky or whisky-based distilled spirits not produced in the United
States."

Regan and Regan also make mention of this in "The Bourbon Companion":
"Because of a congressional proclamation issued in 1964, bourbon must be made in the United States. But it doesn't have to be made in Bourbon
County, Kentucky (where there are no distilleries at present), or even in the state of Kentucky."

#4 is incorrect, as the Federal Regulation doesn't prevent states other than Kentucky from putting "Bourbon" on the bottle. (An example of this is "Virginia Gentleman Bourbon", which is made and distilled by the A.
Smith Bowman Distillery in Virginia.)

...but in the end, who cares? As long as I have my Wild Turkey, I'm happy.

Bacarcar?

Whoa. You musta got a bottle someone spit in. WT is way better than Beam.

Just so everyone's clear, Beam is a Bourbon, but Dickel's and Jack Daniels' are both Tennessee whiskeys.

The difference is that Tennessee whiskey has an extra filtering step and less regulation.

I just got gifted the last fourth of a fifth of KC, and it's my new favorite bourbon. It's going to make me try the rest of Beam's specialty brands (Booker Noe's and the like).

I like the Wild Turkey 101 (in fact, I have a glass of it next to me right now). Knob Creek is a little more smoky. Very nice. I used to dig JD, especially as a Jack-and-Coke. But then I discovered good booze.
Now, like McDonald's burgers, I won't waste my boozing opportunities on Jack.

Jack isn't bourbon, by the way. Jim Beam is. Jack is
Tennessee Whiskey. They're both sour-mash corn liquor based whiskeys. The difference, technically, is that
Tennessee Whiskey gets an extra filtering through white-sugar-maple charcoal. Even so, there are better
Tennessees (George Dickel's, et al).

I don't think that last bit is true; and if it is, it's a tragedy of national proportions.

Okay, I can't find where I read it. It was a couple of months ago when I was researching ryes. Everything I can find now says that Irish whiskeys are (usually)
barley-based. But the Wild Turkey Rye reminded me of
Black Bush, so I believed it.

Wild Turkey Bourbon is made in Anderson County, Maker's Mark in Marion
County, and Virginia Gentleman Bourbon is made in Virginia. There aren't any active distilleries in Bourbon County, Kentucky.

I wonder if the rick-house mentioned in the first paragraph is the one that burned down earlier this year.

Drinking will do that to you.

It's a brand name for a number of different whiskeys.

They occasionally make a special batch, but they've taken to putting different colored wax on bottles simply for collectibility reasons.

They've stuck pretty close to the single product, and if they're smart they'll stick to it in the future, but you know MBA's, they're not really smart, and they all have something to prove that nobody was questioning in the first place, so before long you'll probably see Maker's
Mark start putting out "single-barrel" and "founder's reserve" labels.

Never had Old Overholt. Never even seen it on a shelf.

Rye is really off thet booze-business's radar any more, and it's a damn shame.

I should get a bottle of bitters and try some Manhattans with this WT101R.

I've heard about ORVW, and believe it's very highly rated.

I have a bottle of Jim Beam Rye whiskey not to be confused with the more common Jim beam Bourban. Back in the 60's I enjoyed both Jim Beam and Ancient Age in their 86 proof form. When they cut the proof back a bit and I believe they changed the recipe and have never been more than cheap excuses for their former greatness.

Wild Turkey is a "Kentucky Straight Bourbon" and NOT a rye whiskey. I love it and have a couple of "feathers" beside me now.

BTW, I cannot bad mouth Black Jack at all. I have been to Lynchberg (sp?) and it is still a great whiskey. I do not know what ever happened to the Lem Motlow brand but I liked it a good bit.

Austin Nichols Lives!

I have a bottle of Jim Beam Rye whiskey not to be confused with the more common Jim beam Bourban. Back in the 60's I enjoyed both Jim Beam and Ancient Age in their 86 proof form. When they cut the proof back a bit and I believe they changed the recipe and have never been more than cheap excuses for their former greatness.

Wild Turkey is a "Kentucky Straight Bourbon" and NOT a rye whiskey. I love it and have a couple of "feathers" beside me now.

BTW, I cannot bad mouth Black Jack at all. I have been to Lynchberg (sp?) and it is still a great whiskey. I do not know what ever happened to the Lem Motlow brand but I liked it a good bit.

Austin Nichols Lives!

Jim Beam produces a Rye under the Jim Beam label and also under the Old Overholt label. Wild Turkey produces the 101 proof Straight Rye (as well as its Bourbons); the label of this is sometimes headed "Austin Nichols" There seems to have been a bit of interest in Rye in recent years, but the comparison has to be drawn between blended Scotch and Single Malts Scotches, where the Single Malts are the ones which are getting all the media attention and the blends are quietly perfoming in the background. Perhaps the expansion of business in China and the Far East, which is doing great things for the growth in blended Scotch, albeit at the expensive, de-luxe end, will pre-empt an expansion of sales of Rye.
Re Bourbons, what about Buffalo Trace's whiskeys, they are mostly VERY good and all small batch, or Heaven Hill's Evan Williams' pancakes with maple syrup and gently smoking vanilla flavoured single barrel whiskey, or Woodford Reserve, or...
Re Taeha's comment on Irish, the Irish malts are produced from malted and unmalted barley, their blends are produced, as are Scotch blends, from a mixture of two different spirits. One is single malt whisky, the other is single grain whisky. There can be the product of 100 different distilleries, as in Chivas 100, or 30 to 40 different whiskies from only half a dozen distilleries (by "30 or 40 different whiskies", I mean 4 or 5 different ages from the same distillery). A single grain is produced from malted barley as well as unmalted barley and other grains, such as rye, wheat or maize.

Very interesting Whiskytutor, thank you very much for this piece of info