Wild Turkey Master's Keep Bottled in Bond 17 Year

I've held off writing this review for a couple reasons. I wanted to save something special for my 200th review. When I first tasted this, I had one of those clarifying moments of perfection you get with few spirits. It is one of the most complex spirits I've tried, and to do it justice in a review, I needed to put in the time and really get to know this dram, and that meant several pours and letting it open up; both in the bottle and in the glass. I've had this bottle open for about a month now. I've had 6-7 pours of this and it's down past the neck and the "Wild Turkey" embossment. Does it live up to the hype? Mary, mother of God, yes. Yes it does. Before going any further, know that this won't be for everyone. This isn't 101, Rare Breed, or even a funky adventure of a RR store pick. This is something else entirely. On the nose, yes, there's a lot of cherry. I find the longer the bottle is open, and if you let the dram sit in the glass for about an hour before drinking, the cherry diminishes and allows a panoply of other flavors to emerge. So far, drams have revealed cinnamon, spearmint, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, graham cracker, black tea, cola, Grenadine, baking chocolate, sweet oak, and old leather books ala an old university library. This is far from a one and done bourbon nose. It was only after several hours over many tastings did I manage to parse out those notes. It may be the most complex nose I've come across on any whiskey. This enters on your palate remarkably soft. After 17 years and at 50% ABV I was expecting oak with a side of oak. While there is certainly an oak presence, it's expertly mingled with notes of caramel, vanilla, baking spices, root beer, clove, and less barrel tannins than you'd expect. It's less full-bodied than RR SiB, but instead it has a sweet and sour quality. Some call this "umami", others call it the "Camp Nelson prickle", after the warehouse where it was aged. Either way, it's a note I only get in old whiskies, and it's difficult to describe. It has to be experienced. The finish is very, very long; lasting several minutes. Gentle, warming, slightly numbing, and it fades away slowly, much like a great jam on a classic 70's rock record. At the very faded end there's a whisp of smoky spearmint to tie together this amazing and complex enigma of a bourbon. There is nothing like this I've tried or will likely come across anytime soon. It is bourbon elevated to another level, singularly sublime and beguiling in its composure and construction. It will not please everyone, but if you like Turkey, and you're looking for something "extra", this is the way to go. Many review's I've seen have complained about the $175 MSRP. Consider this though. The BTAC has a few 17+ year offerings each year that go for considerably more money. So do the extra-aged offerings from Heaven Hill, such as the Parker's Heritage series. Michters 20 year is nigh untouchable. I would say $150-$175 is indeed a fair price. Now that I've got this down past the neck, I've tucked it back away in it's delightful packaging for another 6 month slumber to let it oxidize some more. I suspect it will be even more enchanting after a nap. If you find this, buy on sight without hesitation. A rare bourbon, and further evidence that the fellas at Wild Turkey are true masters of their craft. Cheers!

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.

So as with all other reviews so far...I haven't spent enough time for a proper review but lets go. I've had this now 3 times (not just 3 pours). I've compared it side by side with decades and a 10 year pick of spirit. I've also put it next to Knob creek 15 year which I'll be getting to sooner than later. So I think I have at least the general notes on this one. Nose - Instantly the funky turkey notes come out, I don't like the words dusty as that implies a decades old bottling and this is nothing like that. I'm fairly certain that this is camp nelson which is kinda the turkey boy lover's rickhouse and likely one that will upset non turkey lovers. I'm a bit agnostic with wild turkey...I like them but I don't think their "off" notes are some kind of magical dream land. With that funk however is an amazingly sweet nose. Each swirl gives me something new, from vanilla, creme brulee, shoe polish, wood finish, deep old oak (good sweet oak) and deep old funky oak. There's a lot to unwind and it never seems to come at you the same way twice in a row. Water teases out more spice which is a surprisingly big part of this bottle. Taste - So the first pour today and what strikes me is not any one flavor, but how many layers there are here. Up front just non descriptive sweetness, almost a corn sugar like note. Then there's a level of richness and more vanilla and light hints of oak. Then you think you're going into a finish, but you're not there yet. You get darker sweets, perhaps some chocolate, some oak, and a sharp and shocking spicy note. FINALLY, we're onto a finish where you get oak funky oak and well aged vanillas. Water mutes a lot of the transitions and brings the whisky together more. Here there's a bit more bitterness and sourness to the oak and the spice comes in earlier and then fades. Water does this whisky ZERO favors. Overall I think wild turkey has done a really nice job with this bottling. They've managed to bring us a high oak and high sweet expression of wild turkey and not dumbed it down for the masses like a Buffalo Trace offering would have done. I think this will please huge turkey fans, but I don't see this being a wow bottle to those who aren't in the turkey camp already. This is a niche bottling that show cases a profile I don't believe the average bourbon drinker, experienced or not will want to pay huge premiums for. And with that I'm left with a challenging score to give. 175 MSRP but a great many stores are asking over 200 (which is sadly what I paid). Price not considered in the scoring here, but it's worth noting it. If you really are a hardcore Turkey fan this might be a 90 or about a 4.0 but for the rest of the world that's about an 85 or a 3.25. Lets call it a day at a 3.5. Review done after about 5-6 pours of this over the course of 4 days. There's been no noticeable change with the bottle being open but this is one that may take upwards of 6 months to change.

First impression I’m a Turkey fan and wanted this bottle but after the early, glowing online reviews, I was afraid the tater crew would be in high gear to swipe these up. Fate being what it is, I had to fill up my car at Costco this morning, saw a mostly empty parking lot and headed in to pick up a few items I needed before the daily onslaught my local store endures. As I was walking up to the entrance I saw someone walking out with a bottle, asked him if they had some in and lucky me, it was on the shelf for $139.99. Started my night with a small taste of 101 to set my palate. On to the main event: Nose: Cherries, caramel, slight vanilla. The cherry theme seems to be consistent across the reviews and I was surprised just how forward this was to me. Palate: Again, the cherry comes through, unmistakable. Some of your usual caramels, vanilla and surprisingly light oak for this age. Mouthfeel a little thin for my preference. The finish for me was a little short, light on the actual oak, dry and tannic. I had to pull out a Russell’s pick from K&L to compare after tasting this. I had been meaning to open this bottle - no time like the present! The pick is Camp Nelson, to be specific it is the #18-439, Camp Nelson A, Floor 4. 55% ABV. This has more of the usual Turkey taste, only more so. Hint of that rye, nice caramel, and thick, viscous mouthfeel. Does the extra 10 proof do that much? Added a little water to make a fair fight but to me at least the pick is just “more.” More classic turkey, more thickness, more finish with less tannin. These picks sell out for good reason. Final, Initial Neck Pour Thoughts: Let me start by admitting I’m looking forward to letting this open up. The 17 year BiB is a unique product and if you are a Turkey fan I’m sure you’ll want it. Value wise I lucked out, $139.99 is probably about as inexpensive as you’ll find this. Is it worth it? If you’re a Wild Turkey collector unfortunately you’re stuck, it is a must have because of it’s uniqueness. Not a die hard Turkey fan? Then I’d say don’t chase it. Keep your sights on RR picks. Even in my case we’re talking 139 vs. 64.99 for the pick. Drive the BiB price to the usual 169-179 then I say it would be a pass, get a RR pick instead. I’ll revisit and update. Revisit 8/20/22 - As promised this really opened up after a month or so. It has risen to the special pour category (although pretty much there based on price alone). This is one to bring out to show what Wild Turkey is capable of. Raising the score 1/2 a point, 4.25.

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!

Quick notes - bar pour, allegedly open 1-2m and 8/10ths empty. I’m skeptical after my 2016 Four Roses Limited taste out of a bottle this empty. On the nose there is bountiful old wood, allspice, over ripe banana, leather, caramel, pound cake and furniture polish. The entry builds heat quickly but plateaus early at a moderate intensity. Thin mouthfeel. Candy cigarette forward sweetness with an interesting spice profile followed by wood, bananas, cherry cough syrup, bubble gum funk and leather. The finish is moderate. They say never meet your heroes. Maybe I just don’t know Turkey. This is nothing, quite literally nothing, like Rare Breed or Russel’s Reserve - both of which I believe are stellar for their body, and fruity/spicy complexity. This tastes older - antique older. Not Old Weller “Antique” but dusty, potpourri, polish older. Mind toothpaste older. Foot in the grave older. And therein lies the appeal I suppose. I’m not a fan of the furniture polish and ripe banana that hit hard with Sam Houston 14 or Calumet 14. I don’t love the candy cigarette, bubblegum and mint toothpaste sweetness but the only thing that comes close is Bardstown Bourbon Co Discovery 3 (which has a >12y Turkey component). This is unique. I’ve never had “dusty Turkey” but this reminds me of being in my grandparents attic. The smell of furniture in the heat, floral notes, bubble gum and candy in my pocket... and lots of actual dust. Maybe that’s what this bottle is actually about - an older and more simple time and place.