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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $150
- 86.8 Proof
- 17 Years
- Kentucky

Wild Turkey Master's Keep has been sitting on shelves around here (Chicago area) for quite some time. A lot of that certainly has to do with the cost. I'm sure some of it has to do with the low proof of this premium bourbon, clocking in at a mere 86.8 proof, despite being cask strength. I would also imagine that some of it is due to the lackluster reviews this bourbon has received. In any event, thanks to some Binny's gift cards, I decided to splurge and give this a try.

Quite frankly, bad reviews aside (though I did come across some very positive reviews as well), I was most intrigued by the fact that this bourbon was not cut down with water to arrive at this low proof. It had me hoping that it would be as full of flavor as other cask strength bottlings, but with minimal burn. This is one of the first projects of Eddie Russel, son of the great Jimmy Russel and relatively new master distiller at Wild Turkey. He attributes the low proof to the fact that this bourbon was aged in stone warehouses, so in a cooler and damper environment, resulting in a low-proof product coming out of the barrel. If nothing else, I figured it'd be unique.

The nose is very pungent and enjoyable. It's full of caramel and vanilla, with a little bit of cinnamon spice. With the age, I expected to get a lot of wood, but that simply wasn't there. Interestingly, over time the nose developed a rich, fruity quality, kind of an apricot flavor that reminded me of brandy.

On the palate the first thing I noticed was that there was absolutely no burn and nothing but flavor. I also immediately recognized that Wild Turkey profile that so many people either love it or don't. However, this has less spice than Wild Turkey 101 or Rare Breed. Despite it not being present in the nose, the wood comes forward, though in a softer, subtler manner. It is more of flavor only and doesn't make the bourbon seem dry. It's like it got the wood flavor but without the tannins.  

The finish is sweet and long, like a nice blend of amaretto and cloves. The cinnamon spice I expected on the palate finally comes through at the end as well, and it seems to contribute to that nice, warm Kentucky hug. I never found the fruity profile in the flavor that I was getting off the nose. Had it been there I may have enjoyed this much more, as I really enjoyed it on the nose.

This is a very easy bourbon to drink, and, as mentioned above, not nearly as dry as other 15+ year bourbons I've had. It's rich and full of flavor. However, there was something about this bottle that turned me off. I kept getting a weird, musty flavor, like that taste in your mouth when you walk into a damp basement. At first I thought I just got it stuck in my head after reading about the "damp environment" in which the barrels were aged, but I kept noticing it every time I went back to this bottle. It was kind of weird, and, quite frankly, for the price, weird is not the conclusion I was going for.

Grade: B-

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