Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 96 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 60% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $400.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2026-05-26 |
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition Review
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition Stats and Availability
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition is the first release in a new, limited-edition, annual series designed to commemorate vintage bottles from the annals of this famed distillery (once known as Austin Nichols, now owned by the Campari Group). In this instance, Gold Foil Edition was inspired by a legendary “dusty” of yore: A 12-year-old release issued between 1985 and 1992 and dubbed “Cheesy Gold Foil” (CFG) by modern collectors due to its garish, metallic, 1980s packaging. This modern incarnation is 16 years old, composed of just 50 barrels, priced at $400, and released in a far-less-cheesy vintage-style bottle and tube. (Vintage CHFs can sell for upwards of $3,000.)
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition
With the exception of perhaps old bottlings from Stitzel-Weller — the distillery once run by the literal “Pappy” Van Winkle — vintage Wild Turkey is some of the most coveted vintage bourbon amongst connoisseurs who cherish it for its unique, old-school funk and flavor profile. And CGF is surely the most coveted of all the vintage Wild Turkey.
So often do I hear vintage bourbon drinkers bemoan, “Why can’t they make it like they used to?”
Enter the nerds who will claim that’s become all but impossible. Corn is now produced for yield, not flavor. Oak trees for barrels are being chopped down too young. Yeast has become less of a signature from distillery to distillery. Fermentation tanks and stills too stainless. Distilleries overall have become too digitalized, less run by humans. Their ownership groups are far too worried about the bottom lines.
But the distillers themselves have never thought they couldn’t make it “like they used to.”
Gold Foil Edition is proof that the distillers have been right along. In this case, this Wild Turkey series is being helmed by associate master blender Bruce Russell, grandson of Jimmy Russell and son of Eddie Russell, both legendary Wild Turkey master distillers in their own right. I’ve gotten to know Bruce a little over the years, and he’s completely aware of the current state of the industry and what drinkers demand while still cognizant of its past and what made those releases so great — the perfect person to lead this series.
I was sent an ounce or so sample of Gold Foil Edition and tried it neat in a Glencairn over two nights.
If some great whiskeys take a while to “understand,” to deem as good or bad or just mid, this one left no doubt about it: This is world-class bourbon.
On the nose, I get Dr. Pepper with hints of leather, cinnamon sticks, fresh cracked pepper, and Italian amaro (think: Amaro Montenegro); the palate offers tons of brown sugar, crème brûlée, some honey, and hints of pipe smoke. The finish is sweet and creamy, with minimal burn despite the proof.
This will undoubtedly be one of my contenders for bourbon of the year.
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition Rating
96/100
Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition Recap
For those who never got into dusty drinking — or could never afford to start — Gold Foil Edition offers a (slightly more reasonable) chance to taste what deeply rich, well-aged bourbon can be. If CGF was only created due to an 1980s bourbon glut (when there were more barrels around than could be sold) this current downslide of bourbon could lead to a glut 2.0 where lots more great, well-aged releases start hitting shelves in abundance. Whatever the case, this is the start of a new and exciting bourbon series in Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, and I look forward to what comes next.
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