steven s Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) Interesting. What are some possible examples of these NDP bottlings? Edited March 18 by steven s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 4 hours ago, steven s said: Interesting. What are some possible examples of these NDP bottlings? One more time. I contacted BT and asked if the rumor that BT produced the WT 70th was true. Answer: “No truth.” I once again contacted BT. This time I asked about the supposed 15 year old NDP bottles called “Buff Turkey”, and that BT contract distilling for WT years ago. Answer: “Nope” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz June Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Whether BT contract distilled them for Wild Turkey or some other description of the arrangement, Bruce Russell is on record saying these 15yr+ Buff-Turkeys were distilled at BT using mostly BT inputs/processes except that they used the Wild Turkey mash bill. The barrels were then aged at Turkey. My understanding is that the barrels were intended for Wild Turkey’s customer Duke brand bourbon, but they didn’t have the capacity then to handle it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebo Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 The only important thing is.............. Is it good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, ebo said: The only important thing is.............. Is it good? It's OK. Good but not something I'd chase. If I saw it on a shelf at MSRP? Yes. But I'm not going to hustle to find one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On 3/18/2025 at 4:37 AM, fishnbowljoe said: One more time. I contacted BT and asked if the rumor that BT produced the WT 70th was true. Answer: “No truth.” I once again contacted BT. This time I asked about the supposed 15 year old NDP bottles called “Buff Turkey”, and that BT contract distilling for WT years ago. Answer: “Nope” On 3/18/2025 at 4:37 AM, fishnbowljoe said: One more time. I contacted BT and asked if the rumor that BT produced the WT 70th was true. Answer: “No truth.” I once again contacted BT. This time I asked about the supposed 15 year old NDP bottles called “Buff Turkey”, and that BT contract distilling for WT years ago. Answer: “Nope” Thanks for the clarification! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 seems to be some conflicting info here though. Fishnbowljoe says BT says it never happened, while others say Bruce russell is on record saying it did. I'm just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSB Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Kepler shared a video of an interview with B Russell in a thread titled " wild turkey and russell news" (or something like that). ( I would share it but I have no clue on how to share it here, sorry 1st post, long time reader. I need to correct that. BTW, Love this forum.) Start watching around min 30ish. ON TOPIC, I missed out on the 70th Anniv btl, but did get to try several pours over several days at a whiskey bar and I found it to be delicious. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Here is the link to that other thread, which has the youtube video. There is a longer full interview from Mash and Drum, but the video I posted was a shorter capsule that summarizes the highlights Thread for Wild Turkey and Russell's Reserve releases and news 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSB Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Thank you for posting the link, Kepler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VWIndy Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Did not intend to start a big skirmish but have enjoyed the banter :} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz June Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 In addition to Bruce's comments, I have seen the barrel heads - they list both Wild Turkey's DSP and Buffalo Trace's DSP. The Buffalo Trace person may be denying some specific aspect of the "story," rather than outright denying that these barrels exist. I have heard various details on these that turned out to be false or are likely false. Also, for my palate anyway, they taste a lot more like Buffalo Trace #1 products than Wild Turkey products, regardless of the mash bill. I credit yeast with a lot of "house character," so that makes sense as the BT yeast was used on these. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz June Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On a happier note, Bruce confirms in that video that Wild Turkey 8/101 will be returning as a domestic release. This is in addition to the NAS 101 rather than replacing it. I do still wonder if barrels have been diverted for that release and that this is in part responsible for a reported dip in the NAS 101 quality. And at least for me, the 70th Anniversary has not been very available (I managed one bottle), so hopefully the "regular" domestic 8/101 is more available. It does sound like the price will be reasonable, but we shall see (Campari has gone a bit overboard with price increases as they look to American whiskey sales to make up for a dip in their other product lines). And we still don't get a domestic 12/101 for now. I'm surprised Campari hasn't dipped into that well yet, but it sounds like the barrels are being put towards Russell's Reserve 13, which is not the worst result (I'm assuming they are going to make more of this so it might be available around MSRP once in a while). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 On 3/20/2025 at 9:00 AM, Jazz June said: On a happier note, Bruce confirms in that video that Wild Turkey 8/101 will be returning as a domestic release. This is in addition to the NAS 101 rather than replacing it. I do still wonder if barrels have been diverted for that release and that this is in part responsible for a reported dip in the NAS 101 quality. And at least for me, the 70th Anniversary has not been very available (I managed one bottle), so hopefully the "regular" domestic 8/101 is more available. It does sound like the price will be reasonable, but we shall see (Campari has gone a bit overboard with price increases as they look to American whiskey sales to make up for a dip in their other product lines). And we still don't get a domestic 12/101 for now. I'm surprised Campari hasn't dipped into that well yet, but it sounds like the barrels are being put towards Russell's Reserve 13, which is not the worst result (I'm assuming they are going to make more of this so it might be available around MSRP once in a while). Several internet sources today are reporting that Wild Turkey 8 year will be available in the U.S. market, and very soon (pardon my lack of tech savvy, as I am unable to post the links here). From what I'm reading, the price will, indeed, be reasonable (MSRP $45). I realize this product is the same as was previously only available overseas, and not that which was found in the 70th anniversary release, but I thought I might piggyback on this thread anyway. The prevailing wisdom says there will be "enough to go around," but my real world experience says "I'll believe it when I see it." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 I just got an email from Wild Turkey saying in part, "A special announcement for those who appreciate true bourbon craftsmanship: Wild Turkey 101 8-Year-Old returns this April." A Forbes article from April 2 says MSRP is $45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 21 hours ago, IamMatt said: I just got an email from Wild Turkey saying in part, "A special announcement for those who appreciate true bourbon craftsmanship: Wild Turkey 101 8-Year-Old returns this April." A Forbes article from April 2 says MSRP is $45. I had hoped this was going to simply be the new label for 101 - like how KC lost the 9 years old for a while, but it eventually returned. At $45, that's more than double the price of the regular WT101, the same price as Rare Breed, and significantly more than the RR 10 year 90 proof (~$30). Worst case scenario is regular NAS WT101 looses enough of the older barrels to affect the profile negatively. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 (edited) 10 hours ago, PaulO said: I had hoped this was going to simply be the new label for 101 - like how KC lost the 9 years old for a while, but it eventually returned. At $45, that's more than double the price of the regular WT101, the same price as Rare Breed, and significantly more than the RR 10 year 90 proof (~$30). Worst case scenario is regular NAS WT101 looses enough of the older barrels to affect the profile negatively. Yeah...at that MSRP I'd buy one to try, but there is a lot of competition at that price point. Edited April 6 by Skinsfan1311 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 11 hours ago, PaulO said: I had hoped this was going to simply be the new label for 101 - like how KC lost the 9 years old for a while, but it eventually returned. At $45, that's more than double the price of the regular WT101, the same price as Rare Breed, and significantly more than the RR 10 year 90 proof (~$30). Worst case scenario is regular NAS WT101 looses enough of the older barrels to affect the profile negatively. Looks like a WT blind is in order once the 8-year is available... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) On 4/5/2025 at 8:24 AM, PaulO said: I had hoped this was going to simply be the new label for 101 - like how KC lost the 9 years old for a while, but it eventually returned. At $45, that's more than double the price of the regular WT101, the same price as Rare Breed, and significantly more than the RR 10 year 90 proof (~$30). Worst case scenario is regular NAS WT101 looses enough of the older barrels to affect the profile negatively. Although you and I might be able to buy Rare Breed for $45, in fact I believe MSRP for RB is more like $50-55. The going price for many whiskies in some markets is below msrp. For example, msrp for WT 70th Anniversary was $50 but it was on shelves in Texas for $45. I wouldn't be surprised to see the WT8 at $39 after the initial surge of a new product fades away. Your point about regular NAS WT101 losing some of its older barrels to WT8 is well taken however. That's a concern. Edited April 10 by Kepler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz June Posted Friday at 02:08 PM Share Posted Friday at 02:08 PM The Wild Turkey 8/101 is dropping here in Virginia and MSRP did turn out to be $45 (the same as Russell's Reserve 10 year). I'm not rushing out to buy one, but that is an attractive price and product to me. A quick breakdown of the current WT/RR MSRPs: Wild Turkey 101 NAS $28 Wild Turkey 8/101 $45 Russell’s Reserve 10 $45 Wild Turkey Rare Breed $53 Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit $62 Russell’s Reserve SiB $65 I think the price on the WT 8/101 is about right. Kentucky Spirit continues to struggle with a good price point relative to its housemates. It's also likely 8ish years old and 101 proof, but much pricier than the 8/101. The RR SiB is only a few bucks more, and while it is in a similar age range, it has the extra proof and NCF going for it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted Saturday at 07:13 AM Share Posted Saturday at 07:13 AM (edited) 17 hours ago, Jazz June said: The Wild Turkey 8/101 is dropping here in Virginia and MSRP did turn out to be $45 (the same as Russell's Reserve 10 year). I'm not rushing out to buy one, but that is an attractive price and product to me. A quick breakdown of the current WT/RR MSRPs: Wild Turkey 101 NAS $28 Wild Turkey 8/101 $45 Russell’s Reserve 10 $45 Wild Turkey Rare Breed $53 Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit $62 Russell’s Reserve SiB $65 I think the price on the WT 8/101 is about right. Kentucky Spirit continues to struggle with a good price point relative to its housemates. It's also likely 8ish years old and 101 proof, but much pricier than the 8/101. The RR SiB is only a few bucks more, and while it is in a similar age range, it has the extra proof and NCF going for it. I agree with your assessment that the new WT8/101 is priced about right in the WT/RR lineup. The new WT8/101 hasn't yet appeared here in Texas where I live, but in states like Texas (and I assume Indiana, for example) that traditionally have lower WT prices, I expect to see prices like this: Wild Turkey 101 NAS $19.99 Wild Turkey 8/101 $37 to 39 (after the initial craze dies down) Russell’s Reserve 10 $39 Wild Turkey Rare Breed $45 to 47 Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit $57 to 59 (but this is discontinued in the US moving forward) Russell’s Reserve SiB $67 Edited Saturday at 07:15 AM by Kepler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurgalunas Posted 20 hours ago Share Posted 20 hours ago (edited) On 4/26/2025 at 2:13 AM, Kepler said: Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit $57 to 59 (but this is discontinued in the US moving forward) I hadn't heard this and can't find this news online. All I can find are articles about the fantail bottle going away, and the KS no longer being part of the barrel pick program... Have a link? Edited 20 hours ago by gurgalunas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz June Posted 16 hours ago Share Posted 16 hours ago I believe Kentucky Spirit picks are discontinued in the U.S., but shelf Kentucky Spirit will continue to be available here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted 15 hours ago Share Posted 15 hours ago 5 hours ago, gurgalunas said: I hadn't heard this and can't find this news online. All I can find are articles about the fantail bottle going away, and the KS no longer being part of the barrel pick program... Have a link? 1 hour ago, Jazz June said: I believe Kentucky Spirit picks are discontinued in the U.S., but shelf Kentucky Spirit will continue to be available here. I believe Jazz has it correct and I was wrong. I think it's only the private picks of KS that are going away in the US. Sorry about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebo Posted 14 hours ago Share Posted 14 hours ago This is worth the time to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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