After my second time tasting Wild Turkey Master’s Keep 17 Year Bottled in Bond I decided I wanted a bottle. Thankfully a member of a local bourbon group gave me a tip on where to find a bottle at retail just a short drive out of town.
Review #247: Wild Turkey Master’s Keep 17 Year Bottled in Bond
Age: 17 years
Abv: 100 proof
Price: $170
Neat
Nose: Cherry, more cherry, vanilla, caramel, warm spices, faint oak
Taste: Cherry syrup, caramel apple, baking spices, almost no oak taste. Great mouthfeel for the proof.
Finish: Very long, if subtler, finish with baking spice, oak, caramel and smokey notes
Conclusion
That was tasty, very sweet for Turkey and surprisingly bright for something 17 years old. I really do think it has a different flavor profile from modern, higher entry proof Turkey. This might be a plus to folks who aren’t big fans of the current Turkey profile but I doubt they are buying a $170 Master’s Keep.
I’ve blinded this twice now once against a line up of top shelf Turkey bottlings and a second time against Decades. I put in last in the first blind but I did have it come out on top of Decades. I’ve tasted it against a handful of off the shelf Russell’s Reserve picks and it beat them out though not by as much as I would have hoped. I think this is the best Master’s Keep release yet but that the price point is hard to justify. Also I am relatively confident this is chill filtered which is disappointing for a premium release.
TL;DR: Great bottle, crazy price; I’d probably buy another one if they sit around for a while then go on sale like previous MK bottles
8 - an excellent bottle I’d like to have at home
Poor - Overpriced, not worth the money
Scale
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