Wild Turkey Master's Keep Bottled in Bond 17 Year Old Bourbon Whisky (750ml)

Launched in June 2020, the fifth Master's Keep limited edition release is also the second Turkey to be released 'Bottled in Bond' - a certification that guarantees a strict production process and ensures consistency. Specifically, the bourbon must be the product of one single distilling season from one distillery, aged in a federally bonded warehouse and bottled at 100 proof.

Thirteen years earlier, Wild Turkey released its first Bottled in Bond expression – the 15 year old "American Spirit". Always ahead of the curve, Jimmy and Eddie Russell's aim was to offer a big, bold bourbon – which they accomplished by tasting several different batches and landing on an older whiskey that had the distinctive merits of a deeply aged liquid.

“With our own Master’s Keep Bottled In Bond, we took the historic process and protocol of aging for four years to the next level and allowed the liquid to rest for 17 years,” said Eddie Russell, Master Distiller at Wild Turkey. “We aged and perfected this rare, 17-year-old bourbon in Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson rickhouses. This expression is a nod to the past, both our own heritage and the heritage of American whiskey-making as a craft.”

Approximately 14,400 bottles are available world wide.

Other reviews... Many veterans of the bourbon industry, including Jimmy Russell himself, will tell you that bourbon reaches its peak between eight to ten years. They’re not wrong. As soon as bourbon progresses to its teens, you’d better rotate barrels, taste frequently, or cross your fingers. Hell, it might be best to do all three of those things. But every once in a while you happen upon a selection of special barrels – untouched and matured ever so carefully, well beyond conventional prime. This is Master’s Keep Bottled in Bond. I’m not privy to exactly how the barrels for 2020’s Master’s Keep were chosen. Whether known and planned well beforehand (like Russell’s Reserve 1998), or casually discovered on routine inventory checks, I have no clue. I’m aware that Wild Turkey has a surplus of well-aged barrels at the moment. Of course, not all of those would be worthy of inclusion in a special release. Haphazardly batching random seventeen-year barrels is foolhardy at best, downright irresponsible at worst (one might even call it sabotage). The chances of Eddie Russell attempting something like that are basically none to none. What we have with Master’s Keep Bottled in Bond is remarkable: a seventeen-year, bottled-in-bond Kentucky bourbon with an overall bottle count of 14,400. That’s impressive on paper alone. But what’s most impressive is its taste. No, it’s not American Spirit. That’s Jimmy’s classic profile. It’s not 2015’s Master’s Keep 17 either. While the two seventeen-year whiskeys share certain similarities on the nose, the palate and finish are an entirely different experience with 2020’s bottled-in-bond iteration. It truly is its own spirit – enchanting oak, toasted dark fruits, sweet and savory spice, antique leather – notably complex, distinctively mature, and yes, undoubtedly balanced. This is exactly what I was hoping for with 2018’s Russell’s Reserve 2002. Quite frankly, Master’s Keep Bottled in Bond does it better. Agree or disagree, I’m calling this perfection. It arrives courtesy of Eddie Russell – a true master distiller, who graciously and respectfully stands in the shadow of his legendary father – a testament to time, legacy, and craft. This is Master’s Keep Bottled in Bond, and I think you’ll love it. - rarebird101.com