When did they stop making 86.6 proof Wild Turkey?

[Wade]

Please excuse the newbie question here. I just saw a pretty dusty 1.75ml bottle of what appeared to be 86.6 proof Wild Turkey at a nearby liquor store. Just curious as to when they stopped making it. I'm used to seeing the 80 and 101 proof but not 86.6.

Wade

[wrbriggs]

I can't answer, since I too have never seen 86.6 proof WT... but I'm curious as well. Maybe some of our more... hmm... well-preserved(?) members will know the answer to this question?

[TNbourbon]

Not much help here in terms of when it ended, but I have a 7yo WT mini from 1972 which is at 86.8 proof.

[Wade]

Alright, I guess I need glasses. It had to have been the 86.8 proof that I saw. That explains why I couldn't find anything about 86.6 proof WT when I did a google search. The 86.8 proof appears to be an export only product. I've just never seen it in the stores. The bottle I saw also had a white band/label over the lid.

Wade

[cowdery]

I don't know the answer but I do know that Wild Turkey was late, among American whiskey brands, to introduce a lower proof version. For most straight whiskey, 100 proof (101 in the case of WT) was the standard, but a combination of consumer demand and taxes (which are based on proof) combined to encourage distillers to offer lower proof products. Wild Turkey was one of the last to do this, and it was in about 1972, so the mini Tim has may have been part of that original release. I had always thought the lower proof turkey was 80 proof right off the bat, but apparently it was not. That's all I know.

By the way, 80 proof is a kind of legal limit, because by law any whiskey (or gin, vodka or other spirit) sold at less than 80 proof has to be labeled as "diluted." (This is a U.S. law regarding products sold in the U.S. Elsewhere, your mileage may vary.)

[ratcheer]

I can't answer the immediate questions, either. But I do remember that, back in the day, many spirits were at 86.8 proof. I remember always wondering, "why on earth did they pick that number?"

I am guessing that it may have something to do with a difference between European proof and U.S. proof measuring specifications. But, I repeat, I am only speculating.

Tim

[camduncan]

The Wild Turkey Web site still lists WT 86.8 as available in Australia. It doesn't show up as available in the US though.

[sharkman]

Does the "diluted" law hold for flavored vodkas and such? All the Smirnoff "Twist" flavored vodkas are at 70 proof and none of them are marked as "diluted". The same for Three Olives, Van Gogh and not to mention others. Are the flavored vodkas considered a liqueur and not a spirit?

[cowdery]

There are specific rules for flavored brandy, flavored gin, flavored rum, flavored
vodka, and flavored whisky. They can be as low as 60 proof (30% ABV). The name of the predominant flavor must appear as a part of the name.