**What to pay.** Wild Turkey 101 is $78 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $73, and across what we have seen it has run from $70 to $78, so this week it sits at the top of its own range rather than beyond it. Worked out per standard drink that is about $2.80, with roughly 28 standard drinks in the bottle. A pour at home lands well under a pint at the pub, which runs about $13, or $6.28 a standard drink.
The point. Here is the thing worth knowing before you reach for it. Hand a Wild Turkey 101 drinker an Eagle Rare 10 and they get about 92% of what they already like. Hand an Eagle Rare 10 drinker a Wild Turkey 101 and they would pay only 79% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down mostly for being stronger. Two bottles, one swap, and it only really carries in one direction.
What its neighbours' drinkers would pay. Start with what the drinkers of the bottles nearest it would pay for a Wild Turkey 101, each beginning from what they pay for their own. Their answers run from $73 to $78. The Eagle Rare 10 drinker sits at the top of that: about $78, which is 79% of what their own bottle costs, marked down for being stronger and younger than theirs. Turn it around and a Wild Turkey 101 drinker puts an Eagle Rare 10 at about 92% of their own, marked down for being lighter in strength and older than theirs. At $78 this week, Wild Turkey 101 sits inside what those drinkers would give for it.
Wild Turkey 101: cotton candy and campfire smoke on the nose, clove and cinnamon across the palate, muted brown sugar on the finish. Hand it to an Eagle Rare 10 drinker and they'd pay 79% of their own bottle, docking it for the strength. More in this week's piece.
Pour one after work: Wild Turkey 101 runs about $2.80 a standard drink at home, where a pint at the pub sits near $6.28. Easy sipping for the balance-and-spice crowd. More on it in this week's piece.
Wild Turkey 101 is $78 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $73, so I'd read it as a guide. I like it poured slow: campfire smoke, cinnamon, a run of baking spice easing into muted brown sugar. More on it in this week's piece.
Wild Turkey 101 costs $8 more a bottle than Woodford Reserve this week. But at 50.5% against 43.2%, it's the cheaper drink: $2.80 a standard drink against $2.93. The group, per standard drink: Wild Turkey 101 — $2.80 Maker's Mark 46 — $2.85 Woodford Reserve — $2.93 Rare Breed — $3.41 Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel — $5.25 Every one lands under a pint at the pub, about $6.28 a standard drink. After the proof and the baking spice, start with the 101; after creamy vanilla and soft wheat, the 46; after leather, honey and tobacco, the Kentucky Spirit pour is the one.
Ever had a bourbon swerve from nuts into spice? 1792 Small Batch opens on toasted walnuts and pecans, then smoked hatch chiles arrive with cinnamon, orange and crème brûlée, pepper back for the finish. $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. More in this week's piece.
Like 1792 Small Batch? Wild Turkey 101 gives a 1792 Small Batch drinker about 89% of what it does, for 88% of the price, at $73. Cinnamon, campfire smoke, easy sipping. More on 1792 Small Batch in this week's piece.
I asked around the bottles sitting closest to 1792 Small Batch, and their drinkers landed between $67 and $84 for it, each starting from what they pay for their own. At $83 for members it sits inside that spread. I've laid it all out in this week's piece on 1792 Small Batch.
A pour of 1792 Small Batch at home runs about $2.99 a standard drink. The same measure at the pub, where a pint holds around two, lands closer to $6.28. At $83 the bottle gives you about 28 standard drinks. More on it in this week's piece.
I'm in it for the toasted walnuts up front, then that odd, lovely spice that creeps in behind them. That's when I pour 1792 Small Batch. It's $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $84. More on it in this week's piece.
Smoked hatch chiles in a bourbon. 1792 Small Batch opens on toasted walnuts, then a lovely spice arrives and stays: cinnamon, caramel, a peppery finish. $83 for members at Dan's. One for drinkers who like a little heat with the sweet. More in this week's piece.
Fond of 1792 Small Batch but keen to keep a few dollars in your pocket? Wild Turkey 101, $70, gives you about 89% of what 1792 Small Batch does for 84% of the price. Cotton candy, campfire smoke and a parade of baking spices. More on 1792 Small Batch in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles sitting closest to 1792 Small Batch what they'd pay for it, and the answers land between $67 and $87. At $83 for members, it settles right inside that band. The full story's in this week's piece.
1792 Small Batch works out at about 28 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home sits near $2.99, while a pint at the pub is about $6.28 a standard drink. Pour one and see how it sits; there's more in this week's piece on 1792 Small Batch.
1792 Small Batch is $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $86. A quiet week for it. The full read is in this week's piece.
Drink 1792 Small Batch? The bottle that tastes most like it at Dan Murphy's is Wild Turkey 101. It sits nearest two ways: the words in their reviews, and what drinkers reach for. It gives you about 89% of what the 1792 Small Batch does, for 84% of the price.
You can take 1792 Small Batch in two breaths: here is what it tastes like, and here is what it costs. Both are worth knowing before you reach for it.
If 1792 Small Batch is a regular in your rotation, this is the week to notice. It's $83 for members at Dan Murphy's right now. It usually sells around $86, and across what we've seen it's ranged from $78 to $90. So this isn't a wild swing. It's a few dollars under the number you're used to, sitting near the low end of its own spread.
A Wild Turkey buyer rarely studies the shelf tag. That is the brand's promise, and most weeks it is a safe one to take. This week it holds for exactly two of the six bottles, and nowhere near the other four.
Wild Turkey made its name on being the plain-dealing end of Kentucky, high-rye bourbon you pour without a second thought about the price. Set its six whiskies beside the bottles they sit next to, and every last one is over the odds.
The cheapest Wild Turkey on the shelf is a litre of 81-proof bourbon, and the model has it landing to the dollar on what its neighbours charge. That almost never happens.
Wild Turkey built its reputation on cheap, high-proof bourbon you could pour every night without thinking about the bill. The brand median is still just $75, which tells you the everyday range is doing its job. Leave that shelf, though, and the prices change character fast.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILD TURKEY BOURBON RARE BREED | Kentucky | $109.99 | observed | $109.99 | $93.70 | 14.8% | #37 of 44 | $3.41 | #25 of 39 | 1 |
| Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey | Kentucky | $77.99 | observed | $69.95 | $65.85 | 5.9% | #26 of 44 | $2.80 | #14 of 39 | 19 |
| Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey | Kentucky | $156.99 | observed | $146.52 | $129.89 | 11.3% | #33 of 44 | $5.25 | #32 of 39 | 1 |
| Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 81 proof 1Litre | Kentucky | $76.95 | observed | $74.00 | $72.50 | 2.0% | #15 of 44 | $3.44 | #26 of 39 | 0 |
| Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 81p | Kentucky | $50.95 | observed | $50.95 | $50.66 | 0.6% | #1 of 44 | $2.28 | #1 of 39 | 0 |
| Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey | Kentucky | $74.99 | observed | $74.99 | $73.73 | 1.7% | #12 of 44 | $2.90 | #16 of 39 | 0 |