I’ve shared before that bourbon drinkers clearly fall into two camps when it comes to Wild Turkey - either they love it or hate it; I rarely see a middle ground. But this bottle of bourbon is clearly in a completely different camp - as this bottle of Kentucky Spirit is from the elusive Camp Nelson rickhouses.
The Camp Nelson Mystique
What is the big deal about Camp Nelson? Let’s start at the beginning. Wild Turkey maintains three campuses to age its bourbon. If you’ve visited the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg - you’ve seen what is called the Tyrone Campus. Here, the warehouses are labeled, literally, from A to Z. And, if you’ve visited the Four Roses Distillery - on the other side of Lawrenceburg - you may have noticed three rickhouses across the street. Those are not part of the Four Roses Distillery - their rickhouses are at Cox Creek. Those three rickhouses belong to Wild Turkey and are referred to as the McBrayer campus and are some of the original rickhouses where Austin Nichols sourced his original “turkey-hunting” bourbon.
The last set of warehouses maintained by Wild Turkey are the six warehouses - labeled A to F - and overlook the military cemetery at Camp Nelson. The bourbon aged in different casks on different floors can take on significantly different flavor profiles; similarly, the same bourbon aged in different locations can also vary widely.
Interestingly enough, the warehouse construction between the main campus and Camp Nelson doesn’t vary widely. The majority of Tyrone’s warehouses are similar to those at Camp Nelson - wood clad in metal. Wild Turkey didn’t build the rickhouses at Camp Nelson. Canada Dry - of ginger ale fame - used to age their own bourbon from the 1950s into the 1970s.
Some reviewers have found “bubbly ginger ale”-like notes in some of the bourbons aged at Camp Nelson. While the original Wild Turkey rickhouses at Tyrone aren’t far from the Kentucky River, some say that Camp Nelson’s rickhouses are situated at a unique bend in the Kentucky River that enhances airflow in the rickhouses leading to more pronounced interactions between the bourbon and the barrels, resulting in richer aroma and flavors.
The Tasting
Introduced in 1995, Kentucky Spirit is a single barrel expression of the core Wild Turkey 101 product, using the core mash bill from Wild Turkey of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley, and uses the original yeast strain from when Wild Turkey was introduced in the 1950s.
The label further discloses that this bourbon was bottled 5/24/2024 from barrel number 2831, which quietly aged on Rick 46 in Warehouse CN-E - warehouse 5 at Camp Nelson, outside of Nicholasville, Kentucky. The finished product is bottled at Wild Turkey’s standard 101-proof. Most feel the product is in the 8-9 year range.
Eye: Bright copper with evenly spaced medium legs around the sides of my Glencairn glass.
Nose: Sweeter than a typical Wild Turkey 101, with delicious, classical bourbon notes of vanilla, light spice, and toasted oak. This smells like a lovely dose of Angel’s share.
Palate: This starts off slightly subdued on the palate. Vanilla, oak, caramel syrup (like what you’d use for a coffee drink), A drop or two of water really brings the caramel front and center in the form of a tart caramel apple backed by toasted wood. I'd almost think this was double-barreled - though I know it’s not - as the sweeter and woody notes are so well balanced.
Finish: A long and spice-rich Kentucky hug, with sweet vanilla, toasted oak, and a cabinet full of holiday baking spices. The sweet and savory features are kept well-balanced.
Overall: I came across this bottle at a local regional liquor chain; on the shelf, it was $54.99. Kentucky Spirit of any variety has not been an easy find, though I’m starting to see more of this in my travels of late. If this one is escaping you too, you can probably find Rare Breed and Russell's Reserve 10-Year more often.
So, is the “CN” on the label worth the hunt? Many would say yes. I have an older bottle of Kentucky Spirit - still in its former turkey-feather fan shape - from warehouse B at Tyrone. While it has been open a while (which probably isn’t a fair comparison), there are less wood and sweet notes than this bourbon. I also have a recently decanted bottle of Kentucky Spirit from warehouse A and rick 1 at Tyrone (the oldest and one of the original rickhouses). While there are some familiar notes, it is similar with less robust sweet and wood characteristics than our new favorite from Camp Nelson.
With all that said, these other two are very solid offerings from Wild Turkey. But that Camp Nelson mystique comes to the surface once again. Will I be on the lookout for this one? This gets two thumbs up from me! Though, like many things in life, the search can be just as rewarding as capturing one of these elusive unicorns. Cheers!