Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:

- $190

- 100 Proof

- 17 Years

- Kentucky

It seems as though the Master's Keep Collection from Wild Turkey has been gathering some steam these past couple years from a bourbon hunting perspective. The first couple releases in this series seemed to sit on the shelf for quite a while. In fact, I was still seeing them up until last year. My guess is that the price has always been a bit prohibitive (that and the fact that it's not a Buffalo Trace product).  Lately though, they've seemed to move pretty quickly. Perhaps it's a matter of the bourbon market catching up with the price of these releases.

When this 17 year bottled in bond bourbon was announced as the next in the Master's Keep line, I was pretty excited. And so were most people on social media. While Cornerstone had some anticipation, this was one that people were actively planning on chasing down. And so, I was quite thrilled when I was able to land one, even at the price. I've loved everything from this line to date, so I wanted to make sure to get this one, hype or not. 

As would be expected with a 17 year old bourbon, the first note I got off the nose was oak. It actually smelled dry, if that makes sense. Perhaps I was picking up on the oak tannins on the nose. However, I also got some sweeter, richer notes of caramel and burnt sugar. It also had a nice peppery spice as well as a bit of orange peel to add some bright bitterness.

Much like the nose, I got a significant amount of wood on the palate. It wasn't over-oaked, though. Rather, that was just the character of this particular bourbon, if that makes sense. I appreciate a certain amount of oak in my bourbon, something to counter some of the sweetness. While this was on the oakier side, it didn't cross that threshold of being too oaky.

Beyond that, it came across as very complex, with a lot of rich, delicious flavors all working with one another. There was a significant amount of dark cherry, as well as some rich amaretto notes. Both these notes played very well with the wood notes. 

I also got coffee notes, adding a somewhat different bitter quality, along with some anise and cinnamon spice. Even the orange peel that I was getting on the nose made its way into the show from time to time, adding a bit of brightness.  It was full of flavors that are associated with sweetness, but without being sweet itself. It even had a vanilla bean undercurrent to it, without taking on that sweetened vanilla note. 

The finish was mostly cinnamon and even a bit of black pepper. Toffee notes also carried through on the finish, along with a touch of leather. It wasn't a very long finish, but it was full of flavor and I didn't wait very long to take each next sip anyway.

I really loved this whiskey. If you're not a fan of oak, you might not like this, and you probably won't want to spend the money on a bottle. However, if you do like a good, oaky bourbon, this might be right up your alley. It was full of rich flavors that seemed to complement that oak note in a way that made this bourbon interesting and ultimately delicious.

Grade: A

Wild Turkey Master's Keep Cornerstone Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:
- $170
- 109 Proof
- 9 yrs and 11 yrs
- Kentucky

It's not often that a new product is coming on the market and I get into a "have to have it" mode. I tend to be more of an opportunistic bourbon purchaser, rather than actively hunting for particular bottles. However, when I read that Wild Turkey was doing a rye for their next Master's Keep release, I knew I had to get my hands on one. So, I put my feelers out there, and let every store owner and manager know that I wanted to get my hands on one once it came out.

One day I did get that call from my local store manager, letting me know that it came in and she had set one aside for me. At the time I didn't realize just how pricey it would be, or that the price would cause this bottle to be more available than my efforts had warranted. But, I got my hands on one nonetheless, so I was happy, and I only hoped that the flavor would live up to the very steep price.

On the nose I got a lot of rich, creamy caramel. I also got some black pepper spice as well as a light cinnamon note. There was also a sort of burnt sugar note, perhaps like caramel with a bit of char. At first the nose came across as very sweet and dessert-like. Later on, however, the spiciness seemed to come through more, and I felt the black pepper became more noticeable.

When I took my first sip, the fist thing I noticed was the thick, oily viscosity that this whiskey had--a sign of good things to come. Immediately up front the tip and sides of my tongue where hit with spicy cinnamon and cloves that immediately made my mouth water. Of course, the caramel that dominated the nose was prevalent throughout as well.

It wasn't entirely a dessert-like whiskey, though. There was a bit of an old fashioned note to it, as I got some orange peel, some bitter tanins and some luxardo cherry notes. That mix didn't overwhelm, but it certainly made for an interesting and delicious pour.

Towards the end, it did seem to sweeten up a bit, but the rye spice seemed to temper it and keep it from ever getting too sweet. I got a sort of a molasses note that reminded me a bit of oatmeal cookie. However, as sweet as it seemed, it was always balanced by cinnamon and black pepper spices, as well as some flavor from the barrel, like the char and tanins. It all seemed to work perfectly to give a perfect mix, even despite that it trended sweeter than I normally prefer in a rye.

In the end, with the price tag placed on this whiskey, the question is, "Is it worth it?" Although it was very pricey and hard to justify on that objective fact alone, I found this to be one of the best whiskeys I've ever had, and for that reason, I, personally, did not regret my purchase. The fact of the matter is, regardless of price, this is a great rye!

Grade: A+