Wild Turkey Honey

One of the most intriguing aspects of the revival of Bourbon is the way his stubborn old guards have been right. No more than Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey. A glance at the Wild Turkey distillery confirms that this place does not respect the agreement.

Like other businesses are cleaning up their factories, the battleship, painted in black Wild Turkey sits at the edge of a gorge, the clatter of steam chimneys different. It is one of those places that feels alive, as if the plant is humming with the measured pace of staff. And overseeing it all, is the avuncular Jimmy.

Walk with Jimmy in his distillery - it may be owned by Pernod-Ricard, but this is the place of Jimmy - and he becomes animated. The vortex and changing colors of the fermentation, wheezing, breath and blow the whistle still - these functions are not inert, but part of a creative process of life.

No surprise, then, it is a firm believer in human contact. "People are one of the most important things to do Bourbon," he said. "These are people who work here, people with generations of experience. All these people feel proud that Wild Turkey is one of them.

He talks about understanding the meaning of the weird music of the still. "You must have a Stillman there watching and listening. The sound tells him what happens. You can hear a strange noise and know what is happening. You can not have this practice on the machine control.

Jimmy is not a technocrat. His pride in his whiskey distillery and springs from the heart. "There are things you can not prove scientifically. You can not prove why copper is more effective than stainless steel, but you can taste the difference. So for me, whiskey is the process of a craftsman, an artistic process, if you wish. The artistic element is back as an image Bourbon improving, and small batch and single barrel marks appear. People come back to old way of making whiskey and "flavors of the past.

This belief in the flavor is a crucial factor in making Jimmy is the tastiest of all Bourbon. "In the former" is often used in a pejorative sense, but as distillers such as Jimmy Russell used the term, they talk about a style of Bourbon before the "light is good" brigade began gas the industry of death. These days, people like him right, as a world of whiskey to drink (re) discovers the flavor and complexity. They wanted us to go lighter and lighter, but we never change, "he smiled." You'll see more and more flavorful, upscale Bourbons in the future: but we do not need to change anything, we were already there!

Everything in the production of Wild Turkey is done to maximize the flavor. The mashbill is heavy on the rye and barley, it is distilled in a shred of evidence that any other Bourbon and older than the average. Jimmy also stresses the use of "old, natural aging process, turning the guns in storage - taking guns from the floor warm up and replacing them with those who started on the lower floors cool. It gives a profile of more mature, even for the Wild Turkey brand, if that is the Middle floors offering whiskey entering the small batch and single barrel Rare Breed Kentucky Spirit.

Wonderful though they are, it's Wild Turkey 101 ° proof, 8-years, which defines high-end bourbon. Uncompromising but charming (as Jimmy himself), the fact that rates of Hunter S. Thompson as his favorite bourbon is not a surprise, and says a lot about what to expect.

TASTING

Wild Turkey
80 ° proof big nose, a mixture of grated orange and geranium black fruit. Smoke on the palate, which is rich with cinnamon light / fragrance notes and a crisp with vanilla and warm finish. Standing strong. ***

Wild Turkey 8-year
LOT.