My Pedestrian Tastes: Wild Turkey 101 Just Fine For Me!

[MJL]

My Department Chairperson and friend; a highly refined, educated man of fine tastes has been trying to influence me toward supping Single Malt Scotches. In return, I have been retorting with my tastes for Bourbons of all types. More importantly, we have been revealing our local super-secret suppliers of our favored liquors. My esteemed colleague recently directed me to a seller of Scotches in the local area to examine their selection and perhaps purchase one to further his temptations away from my native drink to those of the Picts. I drove there after work, on my way to evening classes and was very impressed by their selection of Scotches. I was even more impressed, though, by their selection of Bourbons and excellent prices on their sale items. Neglecting the advice to purchase a Scotch, I was wavered toward their sale of Wild Turkey 101 in the 1.75 bottle for $23. I could not walk away from a sale so generous so I took two home. Indeed, I would have taken more home if I had the cash to do so.

Well, it has been some time since I have taken any Wild Turkey 101 into glass. I consider Wild Turkey 101 proof to be the archetypal American Bourbon; made the strength of our forefathers and with the wonderful sour mash and corn odors that perfume the room with their honest, straightforward, no nonsense permutations and a taste the runs from sweet to peppery. It has just enough rough edges to bring to mind Fredrick Jackson Turners "Frontier Theory" and just enough aftertaste to remind of of the richness of the Kentucky hills and lushly wooded Appalachian mountains of its origin.

I have been drinking so many highly refined Bourbons of late that I have come to neglect and thus forget the pleasure of the bite and rasp of what is one of the great, albeit pedestrian Whiskeys of our time. Perhaps it is that essential Americanism of my persona but I like a Whiskey that can stand up to a mixer, can be drunk neat or with ice and still delivers on the goods, at 101 proof for a reasonable price. The fact that this Whiskey is available all over North America, without the bother of hunting and delving into stores or Internet to hunt it down is a massive plus.

I am sorry to report that I burst the excitement of my esteemed friend when I mentioned to him that I visited his select shop but walked away with, what he referred to as "...pedestrian Bourbon and branch drinking liquor that can be found anywhere..." We had a good laugh at my expense as I reckon he is right. I can find pleasure in the lowest Bourbon and joy in the best there is to offer but I am most comfortable in the middle of road most of the time. Now to go back and get the rest of those 1.75 bottles to add to my stash!

[OscarV]

Sir, I concur.

I always have a WT101 available, nothing delivers like a bird on the rocks.

[ratcheer]

I disagree on the other side of the matter. WT101 is perfectly good bourbon, even well above average. No one should ever look down their nose at it. :smiley_acbt:

Tim

[BourbonJoe]

I agree also. Wild Turkey 101 has been my go-to bourbon for a long time. It is quintessential american whiskey IMO.

Joe :usflag:

[bluesbassdad]

Even though two of my meds come with a warning not to consume alchohol, I cheat once or twice a month. Drinking so infrequently allows me complete freedom to choose from among about 30 open bottles; at that rate a bottle of, say, Kentucky Spirit would last almost a year.

Surprisingly WT 101 still keeps its place in the rotation. The only difference now is that I'm more likely than before to add water or ice. As an infrequent pour WT 101 can be overpowering to my taste buds.

I don't know whether to cheer or cry at the price you mentioned. That's about what a 750 costs here in The Outback of central Arizona.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[MJL]

Dave,

The regular price for this product is $35 for he 1.75 bottle so you can imagine my haste to abandon my plans to purchase a single malt Scotch and pick these bottles up. The last I saw there were one two bottles left in the store that, barring a hurricane on Monday, I am likely to claim as my own as well. The store these were selling at has GOOD sale prices! I reckon they shall now be on my regular stores to visit while I make my rounds around town.

[smokinjoe]

Isn't that one of the great "discoveries" that our little world of Bourbonia offers? Hunt far and wide, and spend way too much money on the super-premiums, only to rediscover one of the old regulars, and how really, really good it is. One of life's simple pleasures. Good for you, MJ.

:toast:

JOE

[callmeox]

Whenever we go to a party, I tote along a pint of WT101 as my contribution to the fun. It's a great all purpose bourbon, IMHO. It's great straight up, over ice and it has enough balls to stand up to cola.

I'm insanely jealous about that price.

[MJL]

I use Everclear to clean my pipes and I cannot find that gut rot for that cheap. The more I think about bunkering in a few more of those Wild Turkey bottles at that price the more I reckon it will happen.

[spun_cookie]

The current 101 is OK (up there with some of the best bourbons for the $$$), but even compaired to the early 90s version it is remarkable less "good" The early 1990 Old number 8s are crazy good and can still be found.

[fishnbowljoe]

I don't have a bottle in my cabinet yet. I do plan on getting one soon though. I've tried this bourbon a few times. Usually when I'm out to eat or at the bowling alley. I like it. As a matter of fact, I had a few last night while bowling. I'm not sure, but I think I shot a 200 the last game.:skep: Joe

[mythrenegade]

I use Everclear to clean my pipes and I cannot find that gut rot for that cheap. The more I think about bunkering in a few more of those Wild Turkey bottles at that price the more I reckon it will happen.

Please explain the whole "cleaning pipes with everclear" process to me. I don't have any around, but a friend does have a bottle of moonshine that is foul to drink, but might be worth using to clean a pipe. Do tell!

As for the WT101, don't be ashamed by it at all. I had a glass last night. A friend handed me a glass of whiskey on the rocks and told me it was Yukon Jack. I was rather surprised when I tasted it because I really liked it. I said "are you SURE this is Yukon Jack? This tastes exactly like Bourbon..."

After a little confused conversation he said "it's the bourbon you told my wife to buy" which was: Wild Turkey 101. I have no idea how he thought it was Yukon Jack, especially when he had just poured it... (and no, he wasn't loopy)

Joel

[MJL]

Well, I am talking about tobacco pipes not the household pipes. It is pretty common to use liquor to clean pipes by filling the bowl with salt or cotton balls and then dripping some high proof alcohol into the bowl. The spirits cause the tars and residues to release from the Briar and are literally sucked into the cotton or salt as the alcohol evaporates. I have always felt it was a damned shame to use good drinking liquor to clean pipes so I prefer to use the crappiest stuff I can find; like Everclear. The problem with that is when good Whiskey, or Rum is used they leave a slight residual sweetness to the bowl that is just wonderful and is, one could reckon, the goal of cleaning the dang thing in the first place. I have used cheap Bourbon to clean my pipes and it is wonderful but always a shame to use good drinking liquor in this fashion. The higher the proof the better as the last thing you want to put into Briar is water as that may do harm to the Briar and inhibits the cleaning process one would be after by doing this exercise to begin with. The amount used is actually quite small but stilll.....!

[mythrenegade]

Well, I am talking about tobacco pipes not the household pipes. It is pretty common to use liquor to clean pipes by filling the bowl with salt or cotton balls and then dripping some high proof alcohol into the bowl. The spirits cause the tars and residues to release from the Briar and are literally sucked into the cotton or salt as the alcohol evaporates. I have always felt it was a damned shame to use good drinking liquor to clean pipes so I prefer to use the crappiest stuff I can find; like Everclear. The problem with that is when good Whiskey, or Rum is used they leave a slight residual sweetness to the bowl that is just wonderful and is, one could reckon, the goal of cleaning the dang thing in the first place. I have used cheap Bourbon to clean my pipes and it is wonderful but always a shame to use good drinking liquor in this fashion. The higher the proof the better as the last thing you want to put into Briar is water as that may do harm to the Briar and inhibits the cleaning process one would be after by doing this exercise to begin with. The amount used is actually quite small but stilll.....!

I assumed you meant a tobacco pipe! Funny, but it never occurred to me that you could mean a household pipe...

I will give it a shot. I've only used a couple of pipe cleaners to clean my pipe, and the bowl is very black...

Joel

[MJL]

Joel,

Well, if you are going to give it a try here are my suggestions:

1. Don't bother with salt. It has a lot of potential problems for the briar. Use 100% cotton balls.

2. Ream the bowl first and then jam the cotton balls in the bowl fairly tightly.

3. Remove the stem and then jam a Q tip into the shank. I like to use the ones with the cardboard handles as it will act as a wick as well.

4. Drip, very carefully the highest proof liquor you care to use for this into the bowl, on top of the cotton bowl until it is fairly full. Be careful not to get the liquid on the outside as it will lift the finish on the pipe. This is OK if you intend to refinish the outside.

5. A friend on another site mentioned that he wraps the bowls in plastic wrap to enhance the wicking action. I can confirm this works VERY well but also may get the liquid on the outside of the bowl if you are not careful.

6. Allow the bowl to sit with the cotton and liquor in it until the top of the cotton has been dry a few days. That may mean up to a week of sitting depending on humidity conditions in your area.

7. You may choose to repeat this treatment right away when you see how much gunk comes out of your bowl, especially the shank.

8. Before smoking a treated pipe let it rest a week or so to allow it to fully dry out after you have removed the cotton. Use pipe cleaners dipped in the same liquor to clean out the stem before putting it back in the shank.

9. This only works on briar pipes. Do not, DO NOT use on Meerschaum, Corn Cobs or Clay pipes. Bad things may happen!

[fishnbowljoe]

Another alcohol you might want to try for cleaning you pipes is Spiritus. It is higher proof than Everclear. Everclear is 197 proof and Spiritus is 199 proof. I had the stuff once 30 years ago when I was in the Army.:hot: :hot: :hot: This was before it was legal to import it I believe. We had a guy that was 2nd generation Polish in our unit, and somehow he got it shipped in from Poland. You could always count on him to have some at our units summer picnic. Joe

[smokinjoe]

MJ, sorry for this next question, as it takes your nice thread further off topic, but: My dad always used to say, "This'll clean yer pipes out!", as he gave you a whiskey, Alka Seltzer, Vicks rub, methiolate (sp?). I always thought he meant your lungs, or maybe the pipes in the house. Is this a common saying for pipe smokers?

Thanks,

JOE

[MJL]

Another alcohol you might want to try for cleaning you pipes is Spiritus. It is higher proof than Everclear. Everclear is 197 proof and Spiritus is 199 proof. I had the stuff once 30 years ago when I was in the Army.:hot: :hot: :hot: This was before it was legal to import it I believe. We had a guy that was 2nd generation Polish in our unit, and somehow he got it shipped in from Poland. You could always count on him to have some at our units summer picnic. Joe

Joe that stuff will certainly do the trick. The bad side of using Whiskey or Rum is that both contain a fair amount of water that will get into the briar and will potentially swell the grain or allow dissolved salts from using the salt process into faults in the briar. Getting the salts out means using more water or enduring a pipe that smokes salty. :skep: I have turned against using salt/alcohol to clean pipes because I have cracked a few and had a bunch that had to be recleaned to get the damn salty flavor out of them. So, I use cotton balls and alcohols but I do not use Everclear too often because the use of Rum or Whiskey allows a certain amount of the essence of themselves to enter the briar and release when smoked. Indeed, the good side of using an alcohol you would actually drink is that it will leave behind, in the wood, sugars and other carbohydrate compounds that toast up wonderfully and compliment the tobacco. This is especially true when drinking the same alcohol while smoking the freshly cleaned pipe.

As an example I recently purchased a 1940s era Custombilt pipe. This old classic had been abused by some previous owner but do to great construction and design it was still savable. I smoked it when I first got it and is smoked like the exhaust pipe on a diesel truck. I cleaned it up and it took four cycles with the cotton balls and Henry McCenna. When I finally got the inside clean I let it sit for almost a month to allow the briar to dry out. I took it out last night for a smoke with some Prince Albert. Just fantastic! I was getting whiffs of marshmallows browning over a campfire and smores coming out of the pipe. Amazing!

[MJL]

MJ, sorry for this next question, as it takes your nice thread further off topic, but: My dad always used to say, "This'll clean yer pipes out!", as he gave you a whiskey, Alka Seltzer, Vicks rub, methiolate (sp?). I always thought he meant your lungs, or maybe the pipes in the house. Is this a common saying for pipe smokers?

Thanks,

JOE

Joe,

In my house the phrase "clean your pipes out" was used in conjunction with prunes or women! Funny old phrase, huh?

[mythrenegade]

9. This only works on briar pipes. Do not, DO NOT use on Meerschaum, Corn Cobs or Clay pipes. Bad things may happen!

Forgive me. What is a briar pipe verses meerschaum? My pipe is wood. That's all I know :-)

It sounds like I will need to buy a second pipe before I try this so I have something to smoke while this one is down for maintenance.

The liquor I was planning to use is moonshine, made from five pounds of feed corn and five pounds of sugar. It is, to put it bluntly, swill. My friend bought it primarily for the novelty factor, and we tried it neat. It's probably great to get hammered on, but we don't do that, so it sits unused. We've toyed with the idea of using it as a fuel, but I like the idea of cleaning a pipe with it! I'm guessing it's only 100 proof or so. Would that be enough or is that too low?

Joel

[MJL]

If your pipe is wood it is highly likely made from Briar root. The Moonshine should work but my experiences with Moonshine have not been tasty. In the end if you would not drink it I would not put it in your pipe to smoke the residues of the stuff. I have tasted good 'shine and bad 'shine and all of it scared me about what I did not know about the ingredients. Personally, I would stick to liquors whose purity can be assured but it is your pipe so have at it. A good "second" pipe would be one of the cheap Corn Cob pipes found at some drug stores, tobacconists and online.

[mythrenegade]

If your pipe is wood it is highly likely made from Briar root. The Moonshine should work but my experiences with Moonshine have not been tasty. In the end if you would not drink it I would not put it in your pipe to smoke the residues of the stuff. I have tasted good 'shine and bad 'shine and all of it scared me about what I did not know about the ingredients. Personally, I would stick to liquors whose purity can be assured but it is your pipe so have at it. A good "second" pipe would be one of the cheap Corn Cob pipes found at some drug stores, tobacconists and online.

I'm not too worried about the ingredients, but the stuff IS swill. It's certainly not drinkable by me... I am still intrigued by the pipe cleaning process, but I might have to use JB White or something.

Joel

[bluesbassdad]

A strange phenomenon is developing.

Even though this thread has evolved (devolved?) into a discussion of 'shine and tobacco pipes, the frequent repetition of the text, "Wild Turkey 101 Just Fine For Me!" in my list of new messages is getting to me. Tonight I actually salivated slightly.

I haven't had my September drink of bourbon yet, and I'm almost certain as to what it will be.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Sijan]

WT101 is good bourbon. Among mainstream bourbons that you can find at almost any liquor store, I'd go for it or OGD BIB.

[bluesbassdad]

WT101 is good bourbon. Among mainstream bourbons that you can find at almost any liquor store, I'd go for it or OGD BIB.

Dan,

Don't confuse me! :grin:

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield