Wild Turkey has announced the third release in its Master’s Keep series: Master’s Keep Revival.
A look into the company’s archives served as inspiration for the brand’s latest iteration. Master Distiller Eddie Russell announced that Revival is bourbon aged 12-15 years and finished in 30-year-old Oloroso Sherry casks.
With a nod to his father’s 64-year legacy as a bourbon legend, Master’s Keep Revival is inspired by the limited-release Wild Turkey Sherry Signature, a product Jimmy Russell introduced in the early 2000’s. That product featured sherry-infused, 10-year-old bourbon finished in an Oloroso sherry casks. Eddie used the Sherry Signature taste profile to guide him to older bourbon that, after resting in sherry casks, brought out notes of fruit that blended well with the vanilla and caramel of Wild Turkey, the company says. Eddie’s “revival” of Sherry Signature was the impetus for the name.
It was important to Eddie that he use sherry casks that had held liquid for at least 30 years to pull through a richer flavor with stronger notes of fruit, the company says. To secure casks from the source, Eddie traveled to Jerez, Spain in search of the older barrels.
“Master’s Keep Revival is a bourbon I am proud to put my name on,” says Eddie Russell. “Jimmy and I have our healthy differences in how we drink bourbon and how we make Bourbon, but I really enjoyed being able to take something my father created decades ago, which was maybe a little ahead of its time, and put my own stamp on it for today’s bourbon connoisseurs and treasure hunters. I think it will be a nice addition to any collection.”
With the Master’s Keep series, Eddie has pushed the boundaries on the age limits of bourbon, the company says, producing some of the oldest whiskeys Wild Turkey has ever released. The first launch of the series, Master’s Keep, was a 17-year-old bourbon aged in stone and wooden warehouses. Its sequel, Master’s Keep Decades, also showed how Eddie is able to create whiskies from liquid beyond what is Wild Turkey’s sweet spot of 8–12 years.
Master’s Keep Revival is a 101 proof (50.5% ABV) Kentucky Straight Bourbon with a nose of cherry pie, raisins, citrus, nuts and a touch of oak, the company says. It delivers soft and creamy hints of spice and sweet tropical fruits, balanced with notes of honey, spice and dried apricots.
With only 1,600 cases available for a limited time nationally, Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Revival retails for $149.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
