Yes, worth the effort.
We've used the Alton Brown recipe and the Maple/Brown Sugar/Bourbon recipe. I prefer the M/BS/B recipe, but my family perfers the Alton Brown recipe.
The M/BS/B recipe that we used was this:
2 quarts of distilled or reverse osmosis water
2 cups of dark brown sugar
2 cups maple syrup
1 1/2 cups bourbon
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
3/4 cup sea salt
8 cloves of peeled crushed garlic
6 bay leaves
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
We've used good quality bourbon like Wild Turkey and just barely drinkable bourbon like Cabin Still and didn't find a noticeable difference in the flavor of the turkey.
Combine all of the above and bring to a boil, stiring so that the sugar and salt dissolves.
Remove from the heat and add 2 more quarts of distilled or reverse osmosis water. Allow ot completely cool before putting it into the brining bag with the turkey.
