Wild Turkey 101 8-Year (2025) vs Export 101 8-Year Review

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Wild Turkey has a laundry list of amazing releases over the past six decades and none are more iconic than the classic “8/101.” If you don’t know what that is, it’s shorthand for what enthusiasts call the version of Wild Turkey that’s 8 years old and 101 proof. It hasn’t always been the top of the Wild Turkey lineup, but it’s been its most consistent.

In its heyday, 8/101 would have seen barrels much, much older than 8-years-old blended into the final batch. And if you’ve ever tasted these bottles from the 1980’s and 90’s, you’d quickly realize that the dark liquid really does live up to the hype. That stuff was stupendous. But as the bourbon boom gained steam, suddenly Wild Turkey didn’t have the vast stocks of aged liquid like they once did. The company decided to drop the age statement in 1992. I don’t think they were running out of mature stocks right at that time, but they were certainly preparing for that possibility in the future.

Meanwhile, in overseas markets, Wild Turkey products retained their age statements. Headquarters was aware that their customers in Asia and Europe valued age statements more than their American audience, so this went on for quite some time.

In the 2000’s, it was generally assumed that Wild Turkey 101 was a blend of 6-to-8-year-old barrels. But due to this compromise, the price stayed low. If you wanted to spend more money on a bottle of Turkey, there were plenty of rare and unique bottlings that they came up with from the early 90’s up until present day. These limited editions likely allowed Wild Turkey’s owners to keep 101 affordable and available. But production was catching up and barrels started to mature for longer periods of time. Eventually in 2025, Wild Turkey brought back the 8/101 to US shores again.

Domestic 8/101 vs Export 8/101

Age-stated Wild Turkey may have continued to be a thing for a while overseas, but it wasn’t until 2021 that enthusiasts really latched on to a release that started to pop up in Japan, Korea and Australia that was 12-years-old. Bottles started to make their way back to the United States and it renewed interest in these rarely-seen age-stated bourbons. The next year saw people finding a way to get their hands on the 8/101 Export version and bringing it back to the US. Secondary Market prices were much cheaper for the 8/101 version, but reviewers weren’t as impressed as some of the initial excitement entailed. I was one such reviewer.

I was happy to hear that we were getting an 8/101 version back in the domestic market in 2025, but was bewildered when they showed that the label was the exact same as the export version. I figured there would have been some sort of effort to differentiate between the two. So if nothing outwardly looks different, how different is the whiskey inside? Thankfully I have a good friend who gifted me a bottle this past summer and I will now find out. I sampled these both in a glencairn – and blind – to see which I prefer more.

Tasting Notes

Blind Glass #1

Nose: Baking spices and sweet caramel are the first things my nose hones in on. I feel like this one smells a little bit more mature out of the two. I can identify the classic Turkey nuttiness although it’s not super pungent here. I find some citrus and floral notes on the nose which are a bit strange for Wild Turkey to have, but I do enjoy it. Everything smells great for its age and has an extra bit of that aged, musty oak smell. These have been aging in a wooden rickhouse for sure.

Palate: Spice and oak are most dominant in this glass. Coffee cake sweetness blends in perfectly with those (baking) spices while also bringing in some vanilla. For fruit, I can taste a bit of cherry cola. Each sip also carries the very slightest of nutty flavors. Not bad for whichever bottle this is.

Finish: More of the same from the palate. I find a pretty equal mix of caramel sweetness, baking spices and that signature nutty taste. I can also taste the fruit turning into a more preserved variety. Oak and leather round things off well. A very classic Turkey profile overall

Score: 7.2/10

Blind Glass #2

Nose: As I would have expected, the notes here are very similar to Glass #1. Sweet scents are front and center with caramel (Halloween Candy Corn) and cinnamon. Oak smells just about right for the age statement – not too deep and not too light. I would liken it to the warehouse floor on the Tyrone campus. A bit of citrus pokes through and a touch of indistinct orchard fruit. The nuttiness isn’t as pervasive as glass #1, but still classic Turkey.

Palate: Much of the same compared to Glass #1, except that I’m finding a little bit more rye influence in each sip. I can taste the spice and nuttiness, but I’m also picking up on graham cracker and more citrus than usual. Light vanilla mixes with a more potent tobacco to give a nice dichotomy of flavors. All of this is what you can find hiding underneath the signature Turkey caramel sweetness and oak influence.

Finish: Brown sugar and citrus peel highlight the finish while oak and roasted nuts keep things just how I thought they’d be. The fruit seems to have disappeared, but the baking spices wants your attention anyway. Everything is moderately long in length with no glaring weaknesses.

Score: 7/10

Reveal: Glass #1: Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Export release

Reveal Glass #2: Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Domestic (2025) release

Winner: The Export Release!

Summary

While I might have preferred the Export version to the Domestic version this time around, my taste buds may change if I did this again in the future. And since there are some minor batch variations, it’s unknown if future batches will be better or worse than this one is. What I’m trying to say is that if you’re trying to draw conclusions on if you should buy the domestic version or hunt down an export one, i think you’re splitting hairs unnecessarily. Also – I might be preferring the 2022 release simply because it’s had over 2 years to oxidize in the bottle (yes, this is the same bottle from my original review in 2023).

I do think that Wild Turkey will stick with a certain profile (I would call this the “Classic Turkey” profile of sweet & nutty notes paired with musty oak) and there shouldn’t be any surprises in the future like if they where to dump a few hundred fruity Camp Nelson barrels into the blend. This should remain just as consistent as regular Non-Age Stated 101 has.

Speaking of regular-ol’ 101, where does that leave that bottle? Because it’s currently selling for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of its new age-stated brother while only being nominally younger. To many buyers out there, I don’t think that’s enough for them to swap out the cheaper version in their shopping cart. Wild Turkey probably knows this and is okay with it, but it makes me feel that this version is still a bit too pricey for what we’re getting.

If you want my honest opinion, I’m ok with getting only one bottle of the new 8/101. I did it for this review, but will probably stick it far back on my shelf to forget about for a while. I imagine many Turkey enthusiasts will too – not because it’s a bad bottle – but because every Gobble-head I know has a dozen or more Russell’s Reserve bottles to choose from and that’s what they’re going to reach for. I’m not saying that Wild Turkey missed the mark on this release, but I am speaking for all of us when I say that I would have much rather preferred they brought over the 12/101 in lieu of this. Maybe if the bourbon bubble begins to pop, this won’t be such a far flung dream after all.