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2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:25 pm
by loose proton
I just bought a bottle of the 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition (14 year, 101 proof). I cracked it open and gave a friend a sip, he thought it was just regular turkey. I tried a sip and thought the same thing. But then I tried it side by side with Rare Breed and found a new world of complex difference. I noted the amazing variety of flavors and rich, lingering after taste. It is wild turkey, no doubt, but really an amazing fiesta for the taste buds if you sit down and consider the flavors. Then I tried it side by side with 2009 Parkers, 2009 Noah's Mill, 2009 Stagg, 2008 Bookers, and I've got to say this latest offering is well worth trying a sip if ya can get past the price tag. Though the flavor was different, in an odd way it reminded me of Crown XR. Am I going to get another bottle? Maybe. Is it worth the price? To someone with an experienced palate and a few extra $$ to try something new, give it a try. But this is just my modest opinion.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:58 pm
by loose proton
Yep, I'm not usually a fan of Canadian, but the XR is a little different in that it has more flavors to tantalize which may be what brought it to mind when I tried the turkey. A little different than the standard fare from the guys up north.

As for blends, I've got mixed feelings. I prefer an honest barrel!!! But, if the blends are done by someone that knows what they're doing, the result can be good. At least consistent products can be acheived. But then some would say a blend is just a way of recovering losses by smoothing out bad barrels.

I've had two lessons on consistency. I bought a 2006 or 2007 Evan Williams Single Barrel that was amazing, but then I got a later offering which was disappointing. And a couple decades ago, when I worked at an independant lab testing proofs and etc, I had the opportunity to taste a lot of the standard offerings (we didn't waste submitted samples, that would be a sin) and came across a surprising bottle of Kentucky Tavern (yea, a lower shelf offering). For years after that, I would occasionally get a bottle of Kentucky Tavern, and once in a blue moon I got something interesting.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:13 am
by DeanSheen
Ahh so it's out.

How much did you pay for it?

http://pr.skyyspirits.com/2009/10/08/wi ... D-bourbon/

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 2:34 pm
by loose proton
tax and price in my area is higher than some other states. $130. But it comes in a nice box :)

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:41 pm
by Dump Bucket
loose proton wrote:tax and price in my area is higher than some other states. $130. But it comes in a nice box :)



WTF.. Their 15 year BIB was only $85ish

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:57 pm
by birdman1099
Dump Bucket wrote:
loose proton wrote:tax and price in my area is higher than some other states. $130. But it comes in a nice box :)



WTF.. Their 15 year BIB was only $85ish


For real !!!!! Shame on you Wild Turkey !!!! :evil:

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 7:49 pm
by loose proton
It's a little less expensive in other states, I'm sure. I'd guess a Kentucky outlet store may have it for less than $100. Their marketing department did go a little overboard on packaging with a fancy bottle and box. I bet it goes much higher in Japan.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:51 am
by p_elliott
There's no way I.m paying any way near $130 or half that for this. What is WT thinking I like WT 101 but have never had anything from WT that I would consider paying more than $50 for.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:43 pm
by fricky
p_elliott
Have you tasted Wild Turkey Tribute? It is great and it is well worth the price that was charged. I believ the original price was around $85.
Doug

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 12:47 pm
by p_elliott
fricky wrote:p_elliott
Have you tasted Wild Turkey Tribute? It is great and it is well worth the price that was charged. I believ the original price was around $85.
Doug


Doug we drank Tribute together at Dougdogs, but I don't think I would have paid over $50 for it.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:53 pm
by drinkdrankdrunk
Wooooooooow.......$130. You could have bought 4 handles of 101 for that. 4 handles. Or 2 handles of 101 and 2 Rare Breeds, or 2 handles of 101, a Russells, and a Kentucky Spirit or.....................you get what I'm saying right? :D

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:55 pm
by loose proton
Some days I sip Benchmark, some days I sip 20yr Pappy, and some days I sip a well aged tequila. I look for new flavors. I wish I bought a case of a budget 6yr old I found on sale for $6/750ml. When everything on the shelf is old hat, it may cost $$ to try a new brew. Like I said in my initial post, if you can get past the price and wanting to try something new, this one is one to consider. Is it worth the cost? Elijah certainly is!

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:31 pm
by loose proton
I'm sorry, I had just deleted my statement before your reply went through. For those that missed it, I asked "What did one think of XR."

Yes, I was referring to Crown XR. I figured right at the get go that you had never tried it and that's why you denegrated it with statement about Canadians. I am a newbie to whiskey since it was only 45 years ago I sucked untaxed from a copper tube. But I have learned not to cut on a sip before trying it, XR or turkey tradition or anything. If all I ever drank was Benchmark I would think Pappy was over priced.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:38 pm
by loose proton
I share the same opinion as you do regarding most Canadian whiskies available in the USA. Most of the ones I sampled taste like regular corn, and I'd prefer drinking straight 190 grain. But you noted in an earlier post that Canada is capable of producing good material, but you haven't found it. I'm not suggesting for you to go out and buy a bottle of XR; but I am strongly advising that if someone offers you a glass, you accept.

Re: 2009 Wild Turkey Tradition

Unread postPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:13 pm
by Mike
I paid $97 (including tax) for a bottle of Tradition (I just posted a review). Is it worth that price?...........the eternal question that each person must answer for himself or herself. Apparently my answer is yes, since I bought it and am enjoying it and have no desire to return it.

Agin my doctor's advice, I have exceeded my allotment of whiskey today as I could not resist the temptation to compare the Tradition to the best WT whiskies (in my opinion) in my collection............that would be Tribute and the 12 YO. These latter two are extremely rich, with a deep, deep, sweetness almost beyond equal. They are superb bourbons and it is rare that you find their equal, much less their superior.

But, having done a side by side by side with Tribute, 12 YO, and Tradition, it is my opinion that Tradition does not need to be compared to them because it is in a different category. It lives in the village with the ultra-aged bourbons (Pappy 20, Rittenhouse rye 21, Black Maple Hills 21, etc., etc.), where the tannins of the oak take some of the intensity of the sweetness, make it spread more slowly and widely and allow it to softly morph into a dry cleansing (and complex and interesting) quality that i can only describe as 'delicate' in it effect.

In Tradition, this is almost immediately contradicted by the robust spicy 'kick' from the rye. That, bourbon friends, is one of the things that makes Tradition such an interesting and compelling whiskey. What it gives you with one hand is taken away with the other. This is not a trick............it is a surprise.........and humans enjoy few things as much as a surprise (leastways many of us humans do.........I have no truck with folks who never want to be surprised, especially with their taste module).

For me, Tradition, like Birthday Bourbon 2009, is a challenge to the palate, and one walks away feeling both conqueror and conquered.

As I have said so many times before, some (not all) ultra-aged bourbons have a quality that I find makes for superb boubon. It has to do with aging and tannic dryness, but it is not best defined in those terms. The terms I have usually chosen to use include these: delicacy, softness, cognac-like, hint of the grape (white wine) and sophistication.

There are excellent and educated palates who disagree with me...........which, in my opinion, only makes it all the more interesting. Were we all to taste alike there would be a much duller world and no need for Bourbon Enthusiast.