Wild Turkey Longbranch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Review

So it’s been around 2 ½ years since I last reviewed Wild Turkey’s Longbranch, their one-time collaboration with Matthew McConaughey. I say ‘one-time’ collaboration because as of December 31st 2022 McConaughey stood down as their creative director. So now the bottles feature only Eddie Russell’s signature although the liquid inside is expected to remain the same.

The Longbranch concept was too produce a sipping bourbon that was approachable and perhaps be a little milder than the classic Wild Turkey profile while the addition of mesquite charcoal filtering added a unique twist while also providing a nod to McConaughey’s Texas roots.

Looking back at my previous review I felt that it kind of met it’s brief but the fact that I could get the 101 expression back home around quite a bit cheaper it was one that I was reticent to buy again.

Since moving to the US and rebuilding my collection again I came across the Longbranch and thought why not give it another go and see if I feel any differently.

So here goes round 2.

Wild Turkey Longbranch         43% abv / 86 proof.                  $32.99 / E28.50 / £25

8 years old – filtered with oak and Texas mesquite charcoal

Mash Bill: 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley

Nose: Vanilla fudge, cherryade, brown sugar and orange peel. A vegetal, light smokiness is apparent with some menthol, nutmeg and anise. A touch of apple appears after a little time.

Palate: Mouthfeel is decent. On arrival its sweet with a gentle spice kick. Brown sugar, vanilla, orange peel, cream soda and then a little rye spice of clove and pepper corns, cash char and perhaps some new leather. Roasted sage leaves too.

Finish: On the short side with smoky cask char, rye spice, caramel and orange peel.

Score: 5 our of 10

Overall: Compared to the entry level Wild Turkey the extra abv and the mesquite charcoal do add a little extra presence but not enough for me to score this any more highly than the WT 81 proof.

I’d still recommend the Wild Turkey 101 over either of the 81 proof or Longbranch releases.

If you’d like to support my site and continued whiskey exploration there’s a ‘buy me a coffee’ link on the homepage menu bar. Thanks for reading and please check out my YouTube channel!