Taste: 2 oz. neat in glen cairn, then 1 oz with 2 drops of water in a flight with three other WTMK expressions. Nose: The first thing that strikes me is that signature Wild Turkey dusty, funky nose. It isn't soggy or woody but more like an old leather library book. Think the nose on Rare Breed but older, dustier, and amped up, and with less ethanol. Moving past that I got delicious vanilla with apple blossoms. I wouldnt say the taste was exactly all floral, but more like that smell you would get when walking through an orchard- part flowers, part apple skins. Lastly, plenty of oak. The nose seems to bloom and roll out of the glass and fills the room. Palate: The dusty WT funk note is unabashedly front and center. Vanilla transforms to a spicier cherry note, almost like cherry cough lozenger followed by oak and then fading to ripe red apple. All the while there is barrel char hiding in the background that is just enough not to overwhelm, but let you know that this has been in the barrel for a good long while. The complexity on the palate is a captivating roller coaster ride that features all the best of the things that Wild Turkey is known for, and perhaps the best is yet to come on the finish. CAUTION- Some may get overwhelmed with the dusty WT signature note. Fans like me will say they have been waiting all of their Turkey lives to get to that level in a bottle, while others may lament that there was something in there that was "just a bit off." This expression is aimed at Wild Turkey's fan base, and not a bottle to get you started into their product line. Finish: At 100 proof this outkicks the coverage and finishes like a barrel proof. Not in an ethanol way, but in the rich, warming, and lasting finish. My guess is that at bottling this did not have to be downproofed to get to 100 proof much. The richness is so there, and any bitterness that may have been imparted by adding water is completely missing- a great thing! You get vanilla, cherry, a bit of clove, and nutmeg that will keep you coming back for more! Overall- The bottle lives up to the hype. That said, $175 is a lot of money to pay for the experience. I say this every year when the WTMK series is released, and I think alot of the excess cost is in the fancy magnetic box. What really made me happy on this one is that WT did not stray at all from what makes it a favorite. Instead it took its very best, and then the careful aging made something super that much better! I was afraid that this might be over oaked and taste like soggy wood, but it was not. Just the right amount for an elder statesman without going overboard. The next night I set up a tasting board of 17yr BiB, 17 Yr, Decades, and Revival. I kept Cornerstone out of it to be fair, and here is how I picked them- 1. 17 BiB 2. Revival (could have been a toss up with Decades but the rich, sweet, jamminess of the Sherry finish had me at hello) 3. Decades 4. 17yr- a distant 4th It will be very difficult to knock this out of the running for bourbon of the year.