Sunday, February 26, 2012

Wild Turkey Rye.............

As several of us on Straightbourbon have found out, Wild Turkey is going to be releasing a new version of the famous 101 rye- called 81 rye. Yes, 81 proof. Yuck. Seriously. Why? My first thought was maybe the love loads of hate mail, but that certainly can't be it. See, rye is gaining popularity as people look for something that has a strong flavor. Wild Turkey is running in short supply of their rye, so to get 20% more out of each barrel, they are cutting the proof down to a childish 81. The 101 rye will still live on, but in obscurity and in very, very limited supply. The watered-down rye will now be the main rye Wild Turkey makes. Needless to say, I don't plan on drinking this watered-down excuse of a whiskey, so I've been steadily stocking up on the 101 rye before it disappears off the State Store shelves. The name has already been changed on the PLCB lists so it's only a matter of time until the 81 appears. I'm sitting on a good 15 bottles, so that should hold me over until I can find more 101 rye in the future. With the new distillery up and running, Wild Turkey has much more capacity. I expect down the road a few years the tight supply of rye will loosen and the 101 rye to become more prevalent again. Until then, I've got my stash to weather the lean years with!

To follow the Wild Turkey 101/81 saga, click here: Wild Turkey Rye 81