Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival
Wild Turkey was, at one time, too spicy for my palate. Proof spice, oak spice, didn’t matter - tasted like fire. How far we’ve come.
Sherry finishes haven’t taken over in the US nearly as much as they have in places like Scotland. Whether it’s a lack of connection (sherry from Spain was imported for years into Britain, while no such tradition exists in the US), or a lack of interest, who knows. I do hope that more companies try it because Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival proves that it can be done and it can be done well.
This isn’t perfect, but it shows flashes of brilliance - the sherry casks held the fortified wine for 20 years, and that both adds and detracts from the underlying bourbon. I think the decision to use older sherry barrels instead of the usual 3-4-year matured ones is a good choice, as the notes the sherry cask imparts are much more complex than they otherwise might have been. On the other hand, it does add oakiness and wood spice that’s already present in spades with a 12-15-year bourbon underneath, and so the spice at times is too much. Not too much that it’s not enjoyable, mind you, but it does require a higher tolerance to make it through.
Eddie Russell went to Jerez to pick out these casks and reportedly came back with a few hundred of them. Ultimately, 1600 cases of this were released.
Revival doesn’t just celebrate sherry finishing - it also celebrates the long, long career of Master Distiller Jimmy Russell, Eddie’s father and a Wild Turkey employee for nearly seven decades (64 years at the time Revival was released). In the early aughts, Jimmy released a one-off sherry finish called the Sherry Signature. I haven’t had the chance to try it, but knowing Jimmy I can’t imagine it being anything less than good to very good.
For now I’ll keep enjoying this sample and see if I can grab a bottle at MSRP…
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival: Specs
Classification: Bourbon, Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks
Origin: Wild Turkey Distillery
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Proof: 101 (50.5% ABV)
Age: 12-15 Years Old
Location: Kentucky
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival Price: $140
Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Maple caramel. Thin rims and thin droplet legs.
Nose: Soft sherry that wafts out of the glass. A cutting proof hit comes across the bow but fades to complex sweetness and dried fruits. Doesn’t seem like a long finishing period as the sherry isn’t overpowering.
Palate: All-over tongue pepperiness, maybe from the oak since the proof isn’t that high. After the initial heat, it’s dark chocolate bars and some tart red fruit, red plums, and some artificial cherry. Mouthfeel is medium, tingly, verging on hot, with a fruity velvet coating on my tongue.
Finish: All dark chocolate, short-to-medium length, with fruit fading into cocoa powder.
Overall: I like this quite a bit. The sherry is well-balanced, not overpowering the bourbon. Drinks a bit above proof, with oak and pepper from the Oloroso joining the rye from the bourbon underneath. I’d consider a bottle of this at MSRP.
Final Rating: 6.8
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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