WT Kentucky Spirit

[BigSkyDrams]

38 minutes ago, JCwhammie said:

I also have a fan tail bottle that I use as a decanter. I do a 2 parts WTRB plus 3 parts RR10. it comes to 100.72 proof, so it's basically a more complex version of WT101. 

Sounds delicious!

[Whiskeythink.com]

im a big fan if WTKS, & usually have one open at all times. pricewise, its close to RRSB, which clocks in higher at 110° versus the 101°. i find the profile very different tho, & WTKS much sweeter, & i prefer the WTKS profile. store pic versions may be older than the 8-9 yrs. i believe WTKS is chill filtered, where RRSB is not.

its often compared to WT101 as the profile is similar, but WTKS, with its age, is more complex as it doesnt have the younger juice mixed in.

ive had stellar bottles, some very good, but never a bad barrel. i would imagine WTKS is produced in smaller numbers because it doesnt sell as well, so perhaps they can be more careful with choosing the barrels.

gonna be on the road for a couple days next week & know a place that still has fan bottles for 50. may have to get yet another.

[Jazzhead]

I guess you pay more because it's only with the WTKS that you get to drink the  barrels that Jimmy picked.    Or so I'm led to believe,  and it's a belief I'm happy to indulge.   

[Jazzhead]

On 9/11/2020 at 1:26 PM, JCwhammie said:

I also have a fan tail bottle that I use as a decanter. I do a 2 parts WTRB plus 3 parts RR10. it comes to 100.72 proof, so it's basically a more complex version of WT101. 

That's a great idea.    RR10  at the classic proof it used to be.   

[DeepCover]

I’ve never tried WTKS, though I’m starting to get intrigued. While I get an off-putting note from WT101 (sour leather?), I’m trying to keep an open mind. The RR bourbon offerings I’ve tried have mostly had a very abrupt, dry finish (I do really like their rye). I still try them from time to time, but it just doesn’t seem to be my thing. I’d love another viable ~100 proof option that’s available on the shelf. 
 

How does WTKS compare to RHF? 

 

How does the consistency of the profile on WTKS compare to other single barrel offerings like HMK10 and CEHT?
 

[Kepler]

15 hours ago, DeepCover said:

I’ve never tried WTKS, though I’m starting to get intrigued. While I get an off-putting note from WT101 (sour leather?), I’m trying to keep an open mind. The RR bourbon offerings I’ve tried have mostly had a very abrupt, dry finish (I do really like their rye). I still try them from time to time, but it just doesn’t seem to be my thing. I’d love another viable ~100 proof option that’s available on the shelf. 
 

How does WTKS compare to RHF? 

 

How does the consistency of the profile on WTKS compare to other single barrel offerings like HMK10 and CEHT?
 

Sounds to me like you may be trying to force yourself to like Wild Turkey, no?  Why?  Follow your own taste buds, they will lead you to true bourbon zen.  If you find WT101 off-putting and find RR bourbons lacking, then you are not likely to care for the KS either.  Move on from the current "bourbon du jour" amongst the fickle tater crowd (Turkey) and blaze your own trail using your own tastebuds as your guide. 

[Mako254]

On 9/10/2020 at 7:44 PM, k-train said:

This one was bottled 7/27/2018
Barrel #453
Warehouse A
Rick #4

 The content I am here for!

I’ll second the folks saying try one before you clear a shelf. $35 is a great (and appropriate) price.  Hope it is a winner for you!

As an unashamed Turkey head, I have a bone to pick with Campari on how this SKU is managed. In no particular order:

 

1) Ditching the ‘fantail’ bottle for Rare Breed’s hand- me- downs

 

2) Lack of age statement. WT maintains WTKS comes from 8 year old barrels. Well, prove it. Add ‘barreled on’ date in addition to ‘bottled on’ date. 
 

3). Non chill filter. This needs to happen for wtks

 

4). Price.  In my market some stores have WTKS priced the same as RRSiB (60-65). This is absurd. WTKS is single barrel 101. Some are really good, some aren’t as good as shelfie 101. Why Campari insists on charging a premium for this is unclear. It should be more than 101 but less than Rare Breed. If I see one from several years back or from a favorite rick, I’ll grab it but there are other WT offerings that are a better value. 
 

In short, give WT fans an 8 yr age stated WTKS, non chill filtered then maybe it’ll warrant the $55 plus. 

 

[flahute]

1 hour ago, Mako254 said:

 The content I am here for!

I’ll second the folks saying try one before you clear a shelf. $35 is a great (and appropriate) price.  Hope it is a winner for you!

As an unashamed Turkey head, I have a bone to pick with Campari on how this SKU is managed. In no particular order:

 

1) Ditching the ‘fantail’ bottle for Rare Breed’s hand- me- downs

 

2) Lack of age statement. WT maintains WTKS comes from 8 year old barrels. Well, prove it. Add ‘barreled on’ date in addition to ‘bottled on’ date. 
 

3). Non chill filter. This needs to happen for wtks

 

4). Price.  In my market some stores have WTKS priced the same as RRSiB (60-65). This is absurd. WTKS is single barrel 101. Some are really good, some aren’t as good as shelfie 101. Why Campari insists on charging a premium for this is unclear. It should be more than 101 but less than Rare Breed. If I see one from several years back or from a favorite rick, I’ll grab it but there are other WT offerings that are a better value. 
 

In short, give WT fans an 8 yr age stated WTKS, non chill filtered then maybe it’ll warrant the $55 plus. 

 

My man. Preach. #Lawrenceburgman

[k-train]

On 10/5/2020 at 11:22 PM, Mako254 said:

 The content I am here for!

I’ll second the folks saying try one before you clear a shelf. $35 is a great (and appropriate) price.  Hope it is a winner for you!

As an unashamed Turkey head, I have a bone to pick with Campari on how this SKU is managed. In no particular order:

 

1) Ditching the ‘fantail’ bottle for Rare Breed’s hand- me- downs

 

2) Lack of age statement. WT maintains WTKS comes from 8 year old barrels. Well, prove it. Add ‘barreled on’ date in addition to ‘bottled on’ date. 
 

3). Non chill filter. This needs to happen for wtks

 

4). Price.  In my market some stores have WTKS priced the same as RRSiB (60-65). This is absurd. WTKS is single barrel 101. Some are really good, some aren’t as good as shelfie 101. Why Campari insists on charging a premium for this is unclear. It should be more than 101 but less than Rare Breed. If I see one from several years back or from a favorite rick, I’ll grab it but there are other WT offerings that are a better value. 
 

In short, give WT fans an 8 yr age stated WTKS, non chill filtered then maybe it’ll warrant the $55 plus. 

 

Thanks! I didn't clear the shelves, but I did end up going back to grab another bottle while those fantail bottles were still available there for $35.

The WTKS is a nice, solid pour. Right out the gate, it seemed just slightly above average & it wasn't really knocking my socks off or anything... not bad, but nothing special. It has definitely taken a while for it to open up a bit & come to life. A few weeks later, and now I'm finding it to noticeably more enjoyable. It's one I've been going to more often recently and so I'm glad to have a backup waiting in the wings. I gotta say though, I'm a much bigger fan of the RRSiB PS I got recently & of the RRSiB in general.

Here in NC, the ABC stores have the regular price for both RRSiB & WTKS at $59.95.

While I'm happy with the WTKS at the $35 I paid per bottle, (as you mentioned, that truly does seem like an appropriate price point for what's in the bottle) there's no way I'd ever pay $60 for it... especially when I can get the RRSiB for that exact same price.

[Mako254]

3 hours ago, k-train said:

Thanks! I didn't clear the shelves, but I did end up going back to grab another bottle while those fantail bottles were still available there for $35.

The WTKS is a nice, solid pour. Right out the gate, it seemed just slightly above average & it wasn't really knocking my socks off or anything... not bad, but nothing special. It has definitely taken a while for it to open up a bit & come to life. A few weeks later, and now I'm finding it to noticeably more enjoyable. It's one I've been going to more often recently and so I'm glad to have a backup waiting in the wings. I gotta say though, I'm a much bigger fan of the RRSiB PS I got recently & of the RRSiB in general.

Here in NC, the ABC stores have the regular price for both RRSiB & WTKS at $59.95.

While I'm happy with the WTKS at the $35 I paid per bottle, (as you mentioned, that truly does seem like an appropriate price point for what's in the bottle) there's no way I'd ever pay $60 for it... especially when I can get the RRSiB for that exact same price.

Hey @flahute sounds like we got another Lawrenceburg man. Sign him up!

 

And @k-train you aren’t alone. RRSIB is (for me) a top 5 readily available bourbon today. Even shelfies are solid value. 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Mako254

[k-train]

Can anyone shed some light on what might be going on with this?

While I wasn't crazy about the WTKS I purchased at first, it got really nice a few weeks later just before I killed the bottle. When I opened up the second bottle a few days ago, it was really, really nice right from the get go. I had it again last night, and it is already as good or better tasting to me than the first bottle ever was.

They were purchased from the same store, and are both from the exact same barrel, so I'm kind of perplexed at there being such a noticeable difference to how each tasted upon opening.

I figured that being from the same barrel they would likely be almost identical, but so far that hasn't really seemed to be the case. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I'm just more acclimated to the WTKS flavor profile now. Or perhaps that first bottle sat on a shelf the whole time it was in the store & was potentially more exposed to light, while the 2nd bottle I purchased may have been stored away in a case in the back or something. I dunno.

I've never tasted two bottles of the same single barrel back-to-back like that before, so I'm hoping someone with far more experience than I have please explain how this much of a difference is possible?

[fosmith]

3 hours ago, k-train said:

Can anyone shed some light on what might be going on with this?

While I wasn't crazy about the WTKS I purchased at first, it got really nice a few weeks later just before I killed the bottle. When I opened up the second bottle a few days ago, it was really, really nice right from the get go. I had it again last night, and it is already as good or better tasting to me than the first bottle ever was.

They were purchased from the same store, and are both from the exact same barrel, so I'm kind of perplexed at there being such a noticeable difference to how each tasted upon opening.

I figured that being from the same barrel they would likely be almost identical, but so far that hasn't really seemed to be the case. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I'm just more acclimated to the WTKS flavor profile now. Or perhaps that first bottle sat on a shelf the whole time it was in the store & was potentially more exposed to light, while the 2nd bottle I purchased may have been stored away in a case in the back or something. I dunno.

I've never tasted two bottles of the same single barrel back-to-back like that before, so I'm hoping someone with far more experience than I have please explain how this much of a difference is possible?

I had a similar experience with McKenna 10yr.  A friend had a bottle from the same barrel as mine and his had a medicinal flavor that was not pleasant at all but mine was good.  We traded samples and indeed the there was a distinct difference between the two bottles from the same barrel.  Why?  I have no idea...

[B.B. Babington]

6 hours ago, fosmith said:

I had a similar experience with McKenna 10yr.  A friend had a bottle from the same barrel as mine and his had a medicinal flavor that was not pleasant at all but mine was good.  We traded samples and indeed the there was a distinct difference between the two bottles from the same barrel.  Why?  I have no idea...

I can explain this.  Chemistry advanced lesson.  Most people think Brownian movement within a whiskey solution creates homogenous mixture so top of barrel is the same as bottom.  Not true.  Whiskey is not a solution in the true sense but is a mixture of miscibles with different densities and other characteristics.  On standing a gradient forms so top is distinctly different than bottom.  Even turning a barrel several times might not significantly change this.  So if your bottle is pulled 1st and your buddy's bottle is last then there will be a difference.  Furthermore, even tanking might well not remix the solution to full extent.  Gradients can even be observed in a bottle on long standing.  If you want proof I'll let you sample a fresh 2015 EC18 and this almost empty 2015 that's had top drawn off of it.

[k-train]

50 minutes ago, B.B. Babington said:

I can explain this.  Chemistry advanced lesson.  Most people think Brownian movement within a whiskey solution creates homogenous mixture so top of barrel is the same as bottom.  Not true.  Whiskey is not a solution in the true sense but is a mixture of miscibles with different densities and other characteristics.  On standing a gradient forms so top is distinctly different than bottom.  Even turning a barrel several times might not significantly change this.  So if your bottle is pulled 1st and your buddy's bottle is last then there will be a difference.  Furthermore, even tanking might well not remix the solution to full extent.  Gradients can even be observed in a bottle on long standing.  If you want proof I'll let you sample a fresh 2015 EC18 and this almost empty 2015 that's had top drawn off of it.

Thanks for the explanation!

[Mako254]

Also, your palate is much more variable than a bottle. 
 

[DeepCover]

On 9/28/2020 at 1:33 AM, Kepler said:

Sounds to me like you may be trying to force yourself to like Wild Turkey, no?  Why?  Follow your own taste buds, they will lead you to true bourbon zen.  If you find WT101 off-putting and find RR bourbons lacking, then you are not likely to care for the KS either.  Move on from the current "bourbon du jour" amongst the fickle tater crowd (Turkey) and blaze your own trail using your own tastebuds as your guide. 

I’ve given this consideration for a while now and I appreciate the sage advice, as with all the input on this site. What I’ve noticed over time is that my palate and tastes change, so I still give stuff another look from time to time. I used to drink single malt exclusively and now I rarely touch it.
 

I was recently in a position to order: a) nothing; b) WT101, c) fireball. I chose the WT and was really surprised by how much I liked it. I told my whiskey drinking friends, and they were also surprised. I didn’t get the off-putting note I’d gotten in the past (no idea why).
 

I then came across a 10 year WTKS store pick that I simply hadn’t the discipline to ignore. I bought it and immediately took it home and cracked it open after dinner. I’m enjoying it now. The spice seems like the perfect winter bourbon. This seems like the kind of bottle I’ll gravitate to in cold weather and before I know it, it’s gone.

[Guss West]

I thought there was a period of time from 2014-2018 where WT101 was lackluster.  

 

The WT101 being bottled the past couple of years has been very good!  Some talk of the addition of older whiskey to the blend due to Longbranch from Bruce Russell?     

 

A good WTKS barrel can be fantastic and worth the upcharge.   

RR SiB is some of the best bourbon money can buy, imho.  Shhh, it's a secret! 

[k-train]

Has anyone had much experience with WTKS picks in the newer bottle?

[fosmith]

38 minutes ago, k-train said:

Has anyone had much experience with WTKS picks in the newer bottle?

I've not had much experience with WTKS.  In fact, I'm halfway through my first and only bottle ever and it's the new bottle style.  I have to say, it's friggin' great!  Blows WT101 out of the water.  I was skeptical but pulled the trigger because it was on sale but it really is worth the upcharge.  At least the bottle I have is.  Mine was bottled on 04/02/20,  barrel no. 1391, from warehouse A, rick no. 14.  

[k-train]

58 minutes ago, fosmith said:

I've not had much experience with WTKS.  In fact, I'm halfway through my first and only bottle ever and it's the new bottle style.  I have to say, it's friggin' great!  Blows WT101 out of the water.  I was skeptical but pulled the trigger because it was on sale but it really is worth the upcharge.  At least the bottle I have is.  Mine was bottled on 04/02/20,  barrel no. 1391, from warehouse A, rick no. 14.  

That really great fantail bottle I mentioned earlier in this thread was also from warehouse A.

[PaulO]

My experience is limited.  I think you have to keep in mind these are single barrel selections, and all that implies.

[Skinsfan1311]

On 2/24/2021 at 9:17 AM, k-train said:

Has anyone had much experience with WTKS picks in the newer bottle?

Yes.

 

I love WT101, so I'm biased, but this one is really, really good. 

 

I paid $65.00 for it, which is only a few bucks more than retail.  The guy who picks them owns a local restaurant,  and he's very passionate about bourbon. He's part of a small group that picks them, and they do a great job

 

That being said, while it does have more depth than the standard 101, it's not worth the extra $$, (to me), when I can get RB for $38.00.

 

I actually have two bottles of the WTKS, one of which is the barrel pick. I should probably do a blind SBS tasting to compare.

[B.B. Babington]

On 10/29/2020 at 8:23 AM, k-train said:

Can anyone shed some light on what might be going on with this?

While I wasn't crazy about the WTKS I purchased at first, it got really nice a few weeks later just before I killed the bottle. When I opened up the second bottle a few days ago, it was really, really nice right from the get go. I had it again last night, and it is already as good or better tasting to me than the first bottle ever was.

They were purchased from the same store, and are both from the exact same barrel, so I'm kind of perplexed at there being such a noticeable difference to how each tasted upon opening.

I figured that being from the same barrel they would likely be almost identical, but so far that hasn't really seemed to be the case. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I'm just more acclimated to the WTKS flavor profile now. Or perhaps that first bottle sat on a shelf the whole time it was in the store & was potentially more exposed to light, while the 2nd bottle I purchased may have been stored away in a case in the back or something. I dunno.

I've never tasted two bottles of the same single barrel back-to-back like that before, so I'm hoping someone with far more experience than I have please explain how this much of a difference is possible?

 

It can be just day to day change in palate, which is very real and sometimes dramatic

or WT Kentucky Spirit - Page 2 - General Bourbon Discussion - Straightbourbon.com