Wild Turkey releases oldest whiskey to date

Wild Turkey has launched its oldest whiskey to date – the 17-year-old Master’s Keep – which is also the first release from the brand since Eddie Russell was appointed its master distiller.

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep is the brand’s oldest whiskey released to date

Brand owner Gruppo Campari announced in January this year that Eddie Russell had been promoted to Wild Turkey master distiller and would share the role with his father, Bourbon veteran Jimmy Russell.

The limited edition Master’s Keep has been aged in a number of warehouses across Kentucky, both stone and wooden, since the initial liquid was created when Wild Turkey had a surplus of Bourbon and no space to store extra barrels.

Russell claims the lower 86.8 proof (43.4% abv) of the whiskey is a result of its ageing process in stone warehouses.

“Master’s Keep is the result of a lot of experimentation, patience and faith,” he added. “The sweet spot for Bourbon ageing is usually between eight and 12 years because older Bourbons tend to become too woody or spicy from sitting too long in the barrel.

“What I was able to do with Master’s Keep was retain the Bourbon’s rich caramel and vanilla flavors by aging the barrels in both stone and wood warehouses, sampling from them every few months to decide their next move.”

Described as “one of the finest sipping whiskeys to ever come out of the distillery”, Master’s Keep is contained in an embossed crystalline glass bottle.

The variant is available in small quantities across the US from August 2015 at an RRP of US$150.

In August last year, Gruppo Campari released Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary to celebrate the 60-year service of Jimmy Russell.