Wild Turkey "Master's Keep - Decades" Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)
SKU #1309261
94 points
Whisky Advocate
Wild Turkey often exhibits a delightful earthiness, and when earth meets sweet in whiskey, it’s a beautiful thing. Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Decades achieves a rich texture where deep-tilled soil, fresh-cut grass, and mushrooms meet leather and dark chocolate, followed by dill, oregano, and oak. Caramel and vanilla explode over a heavy dose of cinnamon. Master distiller Eddie Russell mingled barrels ranging from 10 to 20 years old in order to strike this balance and complexity. His method displays the potential of combining extremely old stocks into batches with younger barrels to build a great whiskey. *Top 20 Whiskies of 2017* (FM)
(12/2017)
K&L Notes
The second release in the Master's Keep series, the Wild Turkey "Decades" is a marriage of casks aged between 10 to 20 years that, in my opinion, is a huge step up from the previous 17-year-old release for a number of reasons. The first: it's bottled at a higher 52% ABV that really adds lift and vigor to the richness and spice of the whiskey. Whereas the 17 year was quite mellow and soft having been aged in a brick warehouse off-site, the Decades is bold and quite lively. Second reason: whereas the 17-year was a marriage of similar casks, the Decades is a marriage of whiskies between 10-20 years old, carefully constructed so that the best parts of each barrel highlight one another. Think of this as Wild Turkey's version of the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition - mature casks, blended with skill to create a whiskey greater than the simple sum of its components. Everything about the Decades tastes fantastic. There's plenty of sweetness, a roundness of fruit, loads of baking spices like clove and cinnamon, and a bold, mouthwatering finish. There's no need to add water, but you can if you like. Perhaps the whiskey's greatest strength is its immediate accessibility and gorgeous bottle, making it the perfect gift for any bourbon lover. As someone who's tried pretty much every bourbon in the book, I'm planning on adding the Decades to my collection. But I can just as easily imagine the casual whiskey drinker being absolutely wowed by this. (David Driscoll, K&L Spirits buyer)
