Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades celebrates the long history of the Russell family at the distillery by mingling bourbons between 10-20 years old. The idea is to balance the oaky, heavier, older bourbon with more spritely younger bourbon (young in this case still being 10+ years old).
This really confused my palate, to be honest. I tasted this semi-blind (I knew what the choices were but not which was which) and I swore this was the Revival. I got rancio notes on the nose that indicate an Oloroso or Amontillado-type sherry to me, with plenty of red fruit to back that up. But there’s no sherry to be seen. I tried this one first, too, meaning there was no palate contamination. Either way, I did really enjoy the nose and the first half of the palate.
There’s where things started to go off the rails.
Now, when I say “go off the rails” here, it’s a bit hyperbolic. The second half of the palate and the finish aren’t bad by any means. What happened, though, is that the older bourbon started to dominate. Wild Turkey isn’t a high-rye bourbon: at 13%, it’s at most a medium-rye mashbill. The mint - specifically wintermint - that I get on the back palate and finish I would usually attribute to a high-rye mashbill; given the rye percentage, though, I have to think it’s from the 20-year-old part of the “mingling”. The oak simply becomes too much. I can see where Eddie tried to balance it out - and I know I’m oversensitive to oakiness.
The oddest thing to me is that Eddie used bourbon that old at all. His dad, Jimmy, is famous for claiming the best bourbon is between 8-13 years old. My palate is 95% in agreement with him, by the way, with notable exceptions as young as 4 years old. Put aside Jimmy’s stated preference, and a 10-20-year-old celebratory bourbon makes complete sense. But, when the person you’re partially celebrating has stated his preference for a not-that-old bourbon, I start scratching my head.
Also - I’m sorry, I have to address this. That word…”mingling”….really? SMH it’s a blend. Celebrate it. It’s a great job done and will be appreciated by those who like older bourbon.
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades: Specs
Classification: Bourbon
Origin: Wild Turkey Distillery
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Proof: 104 (52% ABV)
Age: 10-20 Years Old
Location: Kentucky
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades Price: $150
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Golden amber.
Nose: Gentle sherry, oddly, with rancio up front. More classic bourbon notes roll in afterward. Barely-there proof heat. Nose mellows well into the first few sips.
Palate: Immediately sweet, drying, and peppery, numbing my whole tongue for a few seconds. Clove and cinnamon toasting in a pan. Manuka honey and a rounded red wine-meets-corn profile. Mouthfeel opens up hints of mint and black licorice, medium-bodied and silky texture that’s peppery again but more controlled, reaching every corner of my mouth and coating it.
Finish: Wintergreen-led, creamy and peppery oak, again I get sherry notes in the background where there is none. Medium-length.
Overall: The mint ends up dominating a bit more than I’d like, but the overall balance between ages here is well done. I like that rancio note, wherever it comes from, but it really is surprising there’s no sherry here. If I tasted this blind I might have thought it was the Revival. Verges on being too oaky without crossing the line.
Final Rating: 6.3
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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