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Wild Turkey American Honey


Lilija

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So, I got a bottle of this for Christmas, and now I don't know what to do with it. It's a little sweet. Ok, it's a lot sweet... It's got the sweetness and mouthfeel of a heavy liqueur, which I don't generall drink, because I'm a bourbon kinda girl.

Does it mix well? I was thinking orange juice, like amaretto and orange, or making a half-assed whiskey sour. Anything to cut the syrupy texture. It has a lovely flavor, but it's dancing on the edge of cloying.

Anyone have any experience with it? Can anyone suggest a good mixer?

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So, I got a bottle of this for Christmas, and now I don't know what to do with it.  It's a little sweet.  Ok, it's a lot sweet...  It's got the sweetness and mouthfeel of a heavy liqueur, which I don't generall drink, because I'm a bourbon kinda girl.

Does it mix well?  I was thinking orange juice, like amaretto and orange, or making a half-assed whiskey sour.  Anything to cut the syrupy texture.  It has a lovely flavor, but it's dancing on the edge of cloying.

Anyone have any experience with it? Can anyone suggest a good mixer?

The standard mo for mixing sweet, strongly flavored liqueurs like this (haven't had the stuff but thats the impression I always got from it) is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT. Another option I would imagine would be to use it in hot drinks, adding it to coffee (hopefully not your morning coffee :wink:), toddies, etc.

Defnitely though, if you find it too sweet, orange juice isn't going to help with that. Beyond that, not having tasted the stuff, I really can't say more.

Hope this helps you get started!

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT.

this is exactly what i do with the stuff, a modified rusty nail, as it were...??Kentucky nail?? that and when i want a little desert i will drink a wee dram in a lowball with one ice cube, as i occasionally do with Drambuie.

Honestly, tho, I have only owned one bottle (1/2 done) and i will not likely purchase more...its good, but I'll stick with Drambuie for a sweet whisky based drink.

Now that I own a bottle of Laird's applejack maybe i should try a mix of that and the American Honey..."Apples and Honey"...(perfect for the Jewish New year, eh?)

I'll have to try that tonite...

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I like the stuff myself. As already suggested, cutting it with bourbon or even rye is definitely a good idea. One thing I noticed about it is that besides the honey sweetness, there is a slight orange note to it. Thus: a little WTAH, a little bourbon or rye, some bitters, a cherry, and there you are: An Old Fashioned. Sounds too easy, but try it!

Mike

"The mixing of whiskey, bitters, and sugar represents a turning point, as decisive for American drinking habits as the discovery of three-point perspective was for Renaissance painting." -- William Grimes

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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Last night, I added a splash of orange juice, and it came out as I suspected. Kinda like Amaretto and orange, minus the almond, plus honey. It was good, but the flavor kind of got lost.

I'm all over the Old Fashioned, that sounds like the perfect use. The "Apples and Honey" sounds so good, I might make one now. I love LOVE Laird's. Also, I never thought of mixing it with bourbon, so that's a good idea. Sipping it last night, I thought it would be wonderful over ice cream, or in coffee.

This is tasty stuff, but it brought me up short, because I opened the bottle thinking "bourbon" heh.

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is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT.

this is exactly what i do with the stuff, a modified rusty nail, as it were...??Kentucky nail?? that and when i want a little desert i will drink a wee dram in a lowball with one ice cube, as i occasionally do with Drambuie.

Honestly, tho, I have only owned one bottle (1/2 done) and i will not likely purchase more...its good, but I'll stick with Drambuie for a sweet whisky based drink.

Now that I own a bottle of Laird's applejack maybe i should try a mix of that and the American Honey..."Apples and Honey"...(perfect for the Jewish New year, eh?)

I'll have to try that tonite...

In the Spirit of the Derby may I humbly suggest "Horseshoe Nail"? :laugh:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT.

this is exactly what i do with the stuff, a modified rusty nail, as it were...??Kentucky nail?? that and when i want a little desert i will drink a wee dram in a lowball with one ice cube, as i occasionally do with Drambuie.

Honestly, tho, I have only owned one bottle (1/2 done) and i will not likely purchase more...its good, but I'll stick with Drambuie for a sweet whisky based drink.

Now that I own a bottle of Laird's applejack maybe i should try a mix of that and the American Honey..."Apples and Honey"...(perfect for the Jewish New year, eh?)

I'll have to try that tonite...

In the Spirit of the Derby may I humbly suggest "Horseshoe Nail"? :laugh:

love the name!!!

btw, just poured me a 1:1 WTAH with Lairds Applejack, my so called "Apples and Honey" and it works quite well..i poured it over some crushed ice, but think i will try larger "rocks" or stirred up in a coupe next time...

any modifications welcomed

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It also works well in hot toddies, and I'm thinking it should mix well with something lemony.

Mike

"The mixing of whiskey, bitters, and sugar represents a turning point, as decisive for American drinking habits as the discovery of three-point perspective was for Renaissance painting." -- William Grimes

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is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT.

this is exactly what i do with the stuff, a modified rusty nail, as it were...??Kentucky nail?? that and when i want a little desert i will drink a wee dram in a lowball with one ice cube, as i occasionally do with Drambuie.

Honestly, tho, I have only owned one bottle (1/2 done) and i will not likely purchase more...its good, but I'll stick with Drambuie for a sweet whisky based drink.

Now that I own a bottle of Laird's applejack maybe i should try a mix of that and the American Honey..."Apples and Honey"...(perfect for the Jewish New year, eh?)

I'll have to try that tonite...

In the Spirit of the Derby may I humbly suggest "Horseshoe Nail"? :laugh:

love the name!!!

btw, just poured me a 1:1 WTAH with Lairds Applejack, my so called "Apples and Honey" and it works quite well..i poured it over some crushed ice, but think i will try larger "rocks" or stirred up in a coupe next time...

any modifications welcomed

No idea how complex the stuff is, but if it has any herbal character at all perhaps it could stand in for one of the liqueurs in a Widow's Kiss, with the Laird's subbed for the Calvados?

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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is to cut it with a measure of the spirit it is based on. For Drambuie, one mixes blended scotch (or single malt, if you're a heretic like me) to make a Rusty Nail. With Benedictine, an equal amount of Cognac makes a B&B. I suspect a similar approach would work well here, at least as a starting place. Start with equal parts American Honey and Wild Turkey on ice with a twist. If you want it sweeter, add more AH. If you want it drier, add more WT.

this is exactly what i do with the stuff, a modified rusty nail, as it were...??Kentucky nail?? that and when i want a little desert i will drink a wee dram in a lowball with one ice cube, as i occasionally do with Drambuie.

Honestly, tho, I have only owned one bottle (1/2 done) and i will not likely purchase more...its good, but I'll stick with Drambuie for a sweet whisky based drink.

Now that I own a bottle of Laird's applejack maybe i should try a mix of that and the American Honey..."Apples and Honey"...(perfect for the Jewish New year, eh?)

I'll have to try that tonite...

In the Spirit of the Derby may I humbly suggest "Horseshoe Nail"? :laugh:

love the name!!!

btw, just poured me a 1:1 WTAH with Lairds Applejack, my so called "Apples and Honey" and it works quite well..i poured it over some crushed ice, but think i will try larger "rocks" or stirred up in a coupe next time...

any modifications welcomed

No idea how complex the stuff is, but if it has any herbal character at all perhaps it could stand in for one of the liqueurs in a Widow's Kiss, with the Laird's subbed for the Calvados?

not very complex and not all all herbal, dont think it would go (IMHO)

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My ratio was 2:1 Applejack to WTAH.  Two nice rocks.  I initially went half and half, but any subtle fruit of the Applejack was lost, so I upped it, and it was perfect.

I will try that tonight or tomorrow...Saturday, I did a 1:1 (1.5 oz each) gently stirred, strained and served up with a cherry, was much nicer than the crushed ice version i tried initially...

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