Review: Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Voyage
Review: Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Voyage
For its latest installment in the long-running Master’s Keep series, Wild Turkey is taking us on a voyage. A voyage to where? Jamaica, where rum casks have been brought in to finish its classic Kentucky bourbon. Made in a first-time collaboration with Appleton master blender Joy Spence, the whiskey starts as a 10 year old bourbon before being finished in casks that previously held 14-year-old Appleton rum. (No word on the length of the finishing.)
So them’s the basics. Now let’s dig into the box and bottle to see how it fares.
There’s definitely a hint of the rum right from the start: The nose is sweeter than any Wild Turkey expression you’ve ever had, well-spiced with clear raisin notes paired with banana-walnut bread, then a rumbling note of barrel char. With time in glass the whiskey blows off some of its heavier fruit elements, with a lingering touch of creosote hanging in the air.
The palate is again quite sweet and very fruit-forward. Fans of Wild Turkey may be taken aback by its power and expressiveness. You may even be forgiven for thinking this might be a whiskey-finished rum rather than the other way around. Again, bright notes of raisins, toasted nuts, and some coconut notes pop immediately, followed quickly by citrus and stone fruit elements. Surprisingly acidic, almost sour on the finish, there’s a bold, fermented cherry quality that sticks with you and feels more like its part of a cocktail than a straight whiskey. In some ways, it reminds me of WhistlePig’s insane Siren’s Song release from last year — though here some restraint has been exhibited. Hints of cocoa on the finish balance out some of the fruit, and while it’s enduringly sweet throughout, it never comes across as overblown.
I feel like I could sip on this all day, and to be honest, I kind of did. Whiskey season is just about to get started, but this is an early Top 10 candidate, for sure. Question: Would it be crazy to use this as the base for a Mai Tai? Wrong answers only.
106 proof.
A / $275 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Wild Turkey Master's Keep Voyage
$275
I’ll ask Santa for this.