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Wild Turkey Rye

Delicious Everyday Rye 2010 Release

0 589

@VictorReview by @Victor

20th Dec 2011

0

Wild Turkey Rye
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    22
  • Overall
    89

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

The reviewed bottle has been open for about 18 months and was purchased in early 2010. I have not sampled very recently released Wild Turkey 101 Straight Rye Whiskey.

Nose: strong sweet penetrating spice notes: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a hint of black pepper. A delightful display of the flavours of rye. Moderate vanilla and a little caramel from the oak. Delicious.

Taste: moderately chewy mouthfeel, with the spices and wood flavours translating strongly onto the palate. Penetrating flavours. Sweetness is unusual in US Straight Rye Whiskey. This is one of the sweetest ryes I have encountered. If you like rye flavours you should like this whiskey.

Finish: long, strong, and consistent, with a gradual phase out of all of the component flavours together.

Balance: Bottling at 50.5% ABV retains the flavours nicely and avoids the sometimes dilute quality of 40% ABV ryes.

Rye whiskey is my favourite style of whisk(e)y and rye grain flavours are my favourite flavours in all of whisk(e)y. Wild Turkey 101 Rye exhibits solid flavours from both grain and wood in a well-balanced package. The reviewed bottle is from the 2010 release. I noticed that Jim Murray gave the 2011 release Wild Turkey Rye a much lower grade in his 2012 Bible than he gave to previous releases in his 2011 Bible and in his previous writings. I don't know whether a bottle bought today will taste as good as the one I am reviewing. Speaking for this and my previous bottles of Wild Turkey Rye, this is my favourite standard US straight rye whiskey, and my single favourite whisk(e)y available in the US at under US $30.

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5 comments

@Alanxv
Alanxv commented

Victor, I finally found a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 rye. I am enjoying it this very moment. Your review is spot on. Thanks for the recommendation.

12 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@Alanxv, I am delighted that you are enjoying Wild Turkey 101 Rye. For whiskey life in the USA, where Wild Turkey 101 Rye is for the time being still quite inexpensive, if I were very low on money, this would be the very first bottle I would buy for myself.

12 years ago 0

@Wills
Wills commented

Great review. So this WT 101 Rye is made of 100% rye I guess. What's the difference to the other WT 101 (Bourbon). Is this one made by less rye, maybe 20-30%? I read it also tastes very spicy which is typical for ryes.

Greetings

12 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@Wills, no, WT 101 Rye, like most US straight rye whiskeys, is made with just over the US legal minimum 51% rye content for the "straight rye whiskey" designation. Typically most US straight ryes will contain perhaps between 51 and 55 % rye grain.

The Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon has minority rye grain. I don't recall the exact percentage, but I believe that it is between 15 and 20%.

Yes, rye grain, and especially the unmalted rye grain which is most often used in US straight ryes, is usually very spicy in the flavours it conveys. Ryes can also have dark-fruity flavours, but spiciness is even more characteristic of rye. Cloves, cinnamon/cassia, nutmeg, black pepper, and ginger are typical. Dark fruits: black cherries, plums.

12 years ago 0

@Wills
Wills commented

Ah sure I forgot that 51% restriction. Guess a whisky made 100% by rye would be a little too harsh ;)

I think I will go for the WT 101 Bourbon as a Rye entrance then (because the WT 101 Rye isn't very available, same with Bulleit 95 or Rittenhouse). Hope I get some of the typical rye flavors there.

12 years ago 0