Photo libraries, in ascending order by bottling year

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down.

Shortly after this bottling, the label changed from stating “Brooklyn – New York” to “New York, NY.”

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down.

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down.

Although the bottle was manufactured in 1971, the label started stating “Lawrenceburg” after the purchase of the Ripy distillery in 1972.

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down.

The 12 year is many people’s favorite in the Wild Turkey lineup. It started with the “Beyond Duplication” bottles in the early 1980s, which was replaced by the “cheesy gold foil” label bottle in the mid-80s, then the split-label in the mid-90s. The export market got the Beyond Duplication and gold foil labels longer than the US market. Finally, the export-only version persisted in a few markets. All are top quality pours.

The original US-version Beyond Duplication bottles had a tax strip like on this bottle. The later versions with a gold capsule top are exports, generally to Japan.

Photos courtesy of Chris Dion.

The 12 year is many people’s favorite in the Wild Turkey lineup. It started with the “Beyond Duplication” bottles in the early 1980s, which was replaced by the “cheesy gold foil” label bottle in the mid-80s, then the split-label in the mid-90s. The export market got the Beyond Duplication and gold foil labels longer than the US market. Finally, the export-only version persisted in a few markets. All are top quality pours.

Besides the Japanese character sticker on back, you can also tell it’s the export version because it has the capsule top rather than the tax strip style on the earlier US bottles.

The 12 year is many people’s favorite in the Wild Turkey lineup. It started with the “Beyond Duplication” bottles in the early 1980s, which was replaced by the “cheesy gold foil” label bottle in the mid-80s, then the split-label in the mid-90s. The export market got the Beyond Duplication and gold foil labels longer than the US market. Finally, the export-only version persisted in a few markets. All are top quality pours.

Note that this bottle has the later “Old No. 8 Brand” wording, but also has the “8 Years Old” age statement added on the front label.

The 12 year is many people’s favorite in the Wild Turkey lineup. It started with the “Beyond Duplication” bottles in the early 1980s, which was replaced by the “cheesy gold foil” label bottle in the mid-80s, then the split-label in the mid-90s. The export market got the Beyond Duplication and gold foil labels longer than the US market. Finally, the export-only version persisted in a few markets. All are top quality pours.

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down. The Old no. 8 Brand replaced the 8 year, in a classic marketing move.

According to Jimmy Russell, the only difference between the US and Japanese versions other than packaging was the proof. The US version was 101 proof, and the Japanese 110. However, several people say they are still slightly different when brought to the same proof. The tribute is many people’s favorite Wild Turkey of all time.

American Spirit was a special edition 15-year bourbon sold in 2007. It’s generally considered to be excellent, but not as desirable as Tribute.

Wild Turkey 8 year, 101 proof was the staple of the line for decades. Unlike many brands, Wild Turkey kept the age statement and higher proof for a long time, which led to its perception of high quality. The ages started to drop in the 1990s, and the proofs have only recently started to go down. The export market has kept age statements longer than the US market however.

Said to be approx. 15 years old according to Campari marketing materials.