One man's love of Wild Turkey 101: 'I'm drinking something of consequence'
Michael Felder is one of my longtime friends in these digital streets, but his love for the "kickin' chicken" is something to behold.
(Editor’s note: Today I’m sharing the platform with Michael Felder, former North Carolina college football player and current college football genius at Stadium. He also runs an amazing college football + food + shenanigans newsletter called 4 Hard Downs. Go subscribe asap.)
What up, Sip Mightily gang!
I'm Michael Felder, and I work for Stadium as a college football analyst. Ed talked with me about guest contributing to this newsletter because we've been rocking together for years, and he knows a few things about me -- including one particular thing.
I love Wild Turkey 101.
I first started drinking 101 in college as my "go-to" bourbon. Like many, I paired it with ginger ale because it made me feel like an adult while still tasting a tad sweet. On my 21st birthday, I was gifted a bottle of Wild Turkey, but I was out of ginger ale. Coca-Cola? Nope. Well, let's try this straight up – and I loved it.
So, I transitioned into drinking it on the rocks. Throughout my "drinking career," I have gone from 101 on the rocks to neat. I love it by itself, and you don't even need the ice to mellow it out. I will go WT101 and water when trying to seem like I'm doing something classy at a meeting but trust me; I like it alone.
It's the whiskey I've found with a great punch and a smoky taste that doesn't have the sweetness of other bourbons. I think many bourbons are excellent, but there aren't many bourbons for me.
Maker's Mark is a fine bourbon, and people love Basil Hayden as a suitable sipper. But I love Wild Turkey 101, not the 81, because it is a punched-up version of Knob Creek or Woodford Reserve.
It lacks the honey, molasses, or caramel sweetness to the mash that comes with other "easy drinking" bourbons, but that's what I love. Let's fight. Fight me all the way down. I like the back of the tongue burning after sipping it neat, and I like the slight cough when it hits my gut.
Because I like to know I'm drinking something of consequence. Of substance. Of weight.
I have had Pappy several times, and Pappy punches you too. Alas, I'm not rich, and I can't buy Pappy for every nightcap. But I can get Wild Turkey 101. It’s my daily sipper.
And, folks, let me tell you, it is more than just my sipping whiskey after a long day of college football. I use it in marinating food. I make my barbecue sauces with it. I put it in stir fry. I have got my wife, who is almost exclusively a wine drinker, into having a nip with me now and then. Working it into the cooking and our life has been great, but sharing is the real joy.
Indeed, I enjoy WT101. I think it has received a weird rep from people who are scared of it or have heard some urban legend. It is high-quality bourbon; my favorite thing is exposing people to it and watching their preconceived notions evaporate. Neighbors. Wife's friends. Co-workers. Every time I break the bird out to celebrate, folks without fail say, "this is good. I didn't know this was that good!"
While I don't think I'll get into cocktails, 101 will be my go-to for life. Honestly, if a cocktail is to be made in my home, that's on my wife, a former bartender. Ed’s “Sundress Season” cocktail calls for Wild Turkey, maybe I’ll get the wife to cook this one up on Saturday. As well as I can cook and create signature dishes and spins on old classics, I've made serious mistakes in cocktail creation (like the time I tried to make my own Fireball and got everyone very sick that night. How would I know soaking the hot tamale candies in bourbon isn't how they made the stuff?)
I implore you, good readers, to give it a shot.
It has earned the name "kickin' chicken" because it will fight you on the way down. Don't run from the fight, though. Enjoy it.
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This man loves wild turk