Photo libraries, in ascending order by bottling year

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.