Wild Turkey Bottle Dates

Redditor u/Kumori published a comprehensive Guide to Wild Turkey Date Codes in January 2017.  This is the source of our information and has been extremely helpful to many in the bourbon whiskey community to hep bottle dates. We sourced this info from reddit and rare bird 101, big thanks to those bourbon sippers for helping out the community! 

The DDD number corresponds to the Julian calendar where the date is the number of days into the year.

Era:  c. 1992
FORMAT:  L1####
TRANSLATION:  L1YDDD
EXAMPLE:  L12358 = December 23, 1992
LOCATION:  Printed on back label or foil enclosure

ERA:  c. 1992-1998
FORMAT:  L-1#-###
TRANSLATION:  L-1Y-DDD
EXAMPLE:  L-15-220 = August 8, 1995
LOCATION:  Printed on back label or foil enclosure

ERA:  c. 1992-1999
FORMAT:  ##/##/##
TRANSLATION:  MM/DD/YY
EXAMPLE:  03/23/1994 = March 23, 1994
LOCATION:  Printed on back label or foil enclosure



ERA:  c. 1999-2006
FORMAT:  L#######
TRANSLATION:  L???Y???
EXAMPLE:  L0611054 = 2001
LOCATION:  Printed on back label or foil enclosure

ERA:  c. 2006
FORMAT:  L####NZ#A
TRANSLATION:  LYDDDN???
EXAMPLE:  L6229NU7A = August 17, 2006
LOCATION:  Laser coded below back label near base

ERA:  c. 2007-2013Wild Turkey Bottle Dates
FORMAT:  L####FZ ####
TRANSLATION:  LYDDDF?TTTT
EXAMPLE:  L9132FH 1253 = 12:53 PM on May 12, 2009
LOCATION:  Laser coded below back label near base

ERA:  c. 2013-current
FORMAT:  LL/ZZ######
TRANSLATION:  LL/YMDDTTTT
EXAMPLE:  LL/DF021000 = 10:00 AM on June 2, 2015
LOCATION:  Laser coded below back label near base

Wild Turkey bottles released prior to 1992: Bottles of this era should have a two-digit date stamp embossed on the underside of the bottle glass.  For example, a stamp of “87” would indicate a bottle manufactured in 1987 though that doesn’t guarantee it was filled in 87.  

Regarding Wild Turkey export bottles released in Japan (per Redditor u/Kumori):

Until 1987, whisk(e)y in Japan had codes with letters or kanji inside of a circle (designating the port of entry) followed by numerals.  In addition, until mid-1989, whisk(e)y in Japan was marked with “ウイスキー特級.” After mid-1989, bottles were marked “ウイスキー.”

Other Tips to Determine Bottle Dates can be found Here:

How Old Is My Bottle?