Richard-ModernDrinking
Wild Turkey Master's Keep Bottled in Bond 17 Year
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
July 14, 2020 (edited April 25, 2021)
By now, you probably know that most bourbon drinkers are raving over this release, so I’m here to give you the perspective of a malt whisky drinker who rarely consumes anything from Kentucky other than rye. Indeed, this bottle alone cost more than the sum of all the bourbon I’ve purchased previously. I bought it because I’ve long been intrigued by the “funky” descriptor that I’ve heard associated with Wild Turkey, a flavor I associate with some of my favorite Springbank whiskies, and also because I was blown away by a sample of the legendary Cheesy Gold Foil Turkey that I got to try recently. I appreciate this is a ridiculous route into a distillery, akin to starting one’s exploration of Arbdeg with Lord of the Isles and then working through the committee releases without first tasting the perfectly good core range. My excuse is that this bottle seemed to promise more of the flavors I find in a well-aged Scotch rather than those I associate with bourbon, such as buttered popcorn, and it didn’t require me to navigate a high octane ABV.
Fortunately, my instincts were correct. The nose is divine and addictive. There’s dark sugar, mint, clover honey, cherry, cinnamon and ginger, all flecked with a pinprick pepper spice that pulses to a metronomic beat between each of the competing flavors. There’s spice at the front of each sip, then tea, a dash of cherry, the dissolved sugar at the bottom of the teacup, even something meaty like chopped liver. Each mouthful is different, though the oak spice is always present. And let’s talk about what it’s not — it’s not syrupy sweet, there’s no butter and, thankfully, no buttered popcorn. The finish is drying with caramel drizzle, more tea, ginger and another hint of cherry.
This is really complex and more than enough to satisfy a bourbon-curious malt whisky drinker. The only disappointment was the absence of any of the umami/mushroom notes that I associate with the word “funky”. If anyone knows of a Wild Turkey that meets that description, please share!
179.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@jonwilkinson7309 thanks. On the whole I’m not much for chasing limited edition releases, but this one got so much good press and reviews almost immediately when it was released I felt compelled to hunt it down.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Congrats on the score! That's tenacity!!
@Richard-ModernDrinking I did not. Seriously thought about it but it would have busted my budget. Plus I’m still working through a bottle of the Belle Meade Sherry Cask. Might get the revival next month.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Nice work! Did you get the Revival as well?
@WhiskeyLonghorn nice ! Looking forward to your take on it
@Richard-ModernDrinking good news. Went to Total Wine this morning to get Revival, and the cashier asked me, “Are you sure you want that one? We just got our shipment of the 17 BIB this morning!” Made my day. Paid $150 for it. Cheers!
@PBMichiganWolverine oh absolutely, but I'd hope and think most bottles did sell at retail, with a LOT likely still being held back for lotteries later in the year.
@dhsilv2 and some places are shamelessly ( or boldly...take your pick) asking for $500+.
@PBMichiganWolverine MSRP was 180 on this and costco had it for 140. I paid 210 for mine...this is oddly a popular one given almost all the other masters keeps can still be found with some effort, evne the original 17 year can be found with enough regional connections.
umami in bourbon isn't something I can think of in any modern era production.
@Richard-ModernDrinking no worries. Appreciate the thought. Called around a bit more tonight. Nothing left in central TX, but things tend to get shoved in the back of stores and re-emerge at discounted prices later on. Case in point, I found a WT Masters Keep Revival that I’ll pick up tomorrow. Thought those ran out two years ago. I saw a bottle of the Cornerstone Rye tonight too.
@WhiskeyLonghorn I’ll keep an eye out for you. I would offer to send you a sample but after I split my bottle with eight other people I only had a couple of ounces left for trades with @PBMichiganWolverine and @jonwilkinson7309
@Richard-ModernDrinking I’m in Austin. I checked 2 different Total Wine locations, as well as several local stores that usually have some rare bottles. No luck...
@WhiskeyLonghorn it was anywhere from $199 to $250 when it came out, now priced well over $299-500
@WhiskeyLonghorn where are you?
Jealous you got to taste this. I drove to five different stores today looking for this to no avail...
This one sounds amazing...and a high rating from you as a non-bourbon drinker speaks volumes.