Questions from a newbie

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

It was a pleasure finding this site. There are very

few things in life more enjoyable to me than sipping

on a glass of fine bourbon at the end of the day. I

have a couple of questions. First, how old is the

standard Wild Turkey 101 now? In times past the

phrase "8 years old " was proudly displayed on

the label , but no more. Does this affect the quality

of the product? Also, how important is a cork in the

cap? I,ve always thought that a good litmus test for

bourbon fit to sip(as opposed to mixing it with coke

or ginger-ale) was a cork stopper cap instead of a

twist-off, but the 1.75 liter size of WT101 and the

750ml sizes of Makers Mark and Old Fitz.12yr all

lack a cork. Once again. I enjoy reading this forum and

thanks for answering my ?'s

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Welcome aboard the good ship Bourbonia Lewis! When I last visited the Wild Turkey distillery I was told that what is "No. 8" brand 101 is five and a half to six years old. All of the eight year old Turkey along with all of the twelve year old is all going to Japan. They can get the equilivent of several hundred dollars per bottle. Chin up my man as we have the fabulous ten year old "Russell's Reserve". If you can find it buy it. It's better than the both the eight year old or the twelve year old.

As for cork vs.screw caps there is some discussion on this issue somewhere on the forum. Try doing a search for it. Corks cost more than screws, but it is no real indication of the quality of the bourbon inside the bottle. Trust your taste buds. Not the caps.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[cowdery]

the cork finish is mostly for style. In fact, in terms of protecting the whiskey from the only thing that can harm it, which is oxygen, the twist caps are actually superior.

But you are right in thinking that someone producing a better product, and asking a higher price for it, is likely to use a cork. In that respect, though, price is as good an indicator as the cork.

However, there are plenty of superior whiskeys in screw cap finished bottles, and some mediocre and overpriced ones in cork finished bottles, so let your tastebuds be your guide.

--Chuck Cowdery

[kitzg]

you've hit on a couple of controversial issues. As Chuck and Linn have indicated the cork cap is a marketing idea and may guide you the more expensive and better product but it does not protect the product nor guarantee the quality. Some of my favorites do have cork caps from Several of the Van Winkle products to 'good old' Knob Creek and Kentucky Spirit.

The other controversy is how much aging is enough. Linn's got the answer on WT. But I've found I can often enjoy a bourbon that is aged 5 - 6 yrs as much as I can one aged 10 yrs +.

Glad you found the forum

Greg

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Hi Greg. Welcome back, we missed you!

I say "we" because, in addition to Linda & I, Mr. Mike Veach is sitting here as I type this. He is doing research in the Cincinnati library this weekend and has honored us with a visit (he is staying with us while here). We've had a wonderful time tasting, comparing, enjoying, getting rubber-mouthed, and forgetting just who we are, and just which bottle was that we were comparing anyway?.

Of course, we're also reading the forum messages, and saw this discussion of corks vs screwcaps. Naturally, we got to talking about it and we agree that corked whiskey CAN change due to "cork taint", a bacterial infection in the cork, and also oxidation that can occur if the cork dries and shrinks. These things aren't possible with screwcaps, and it's our combined and considered (not to mention pompous and egotisitical) opionion that screw caps are better for the whiskey, even if they're not as aesthetically pleasing.

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey