US. Pernod Ricard World Trade and Wild Turkey Bourbon have launched a radical innovation in the bourbon market, Wild Turkey Sherry Signature.
A travel retail exclusive with a recommended retail price of US$35, the new line marries traditional bourbon making with a fresh departure – aging the ten-year old Kentucky bourbon for a further period in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. This lends the whiskey, bottled at 86º, a mellow, honeyed aroma and sweetness.
Because it departs from the strictly-controlled bourbon-making procedures, Sherry Signature is described as “made with 10yo Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey”.
Master Distiller James ‘Jimmy’ Russell (pictured below in the distillery), who created the new line, said: “We believe a whole new generation will go for this.”
Pernod Ricard World Trade marketing director James Clarke (pictured below on the far right with Jimmy Russell and Pernod Ricard World Trade chairman & CEO Gilles Cambournac) said: “While new expressions of single malt Scotches have appeared at regular intervals over the last few years, the bourbon category hasn’t seen the same degree of innovation. Sherry Signature is a unique proposition that builds on the strengths of the Wild Turkey brand to appeal to whisk(e)y enthusiasts both within the bourbon segment and beyond. We’re confident retailers and travellers alike will welcome this addition to the Wild Turkey range.”
The Pernod Ricard subsidiary has experienced previous success with duty free exclusive variations of Wild Turkey. Stampede and Freedom, both DFS Group exclusives, launched in 1998 and 2002 respectively both fared well (Freedom is still listed with DFS).
Comment: Wild Turkey has long been a strong brand in duty free, building on its powerful domestic franchise in Japan, the US and Australia, in particular. In a comparative tasting against other Wild Turkey lines and one of the company’s single malts, Aberlour, Sherry Signature does well, with a soft, floral, honeyed character that is likely to see it move quickly off the shelves – particularly if it is the subject of in-store tastings. American whiskies saw a lot of new product development in the late 1990s but the tough conditions of the post 9/11 era have dulled that progress. Sherry might be a departure for the bourbon purists – but it has hardly harmed the progress of single malt whisky. A likely hit.
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