Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (750ml)

"...the best Rye this distillery has released" - therobbreport.com

Most Wild Turkey rye is aged about 4-6 years. Triumph breaks the mould as the oldest age-stated rye the distillery has ever released. In fact, there's whiskey up to 12 years old in the blend. It marks the 10th Master’s Keep since the series began in 2015, and only the second rye (the other was Cornerstone which was not age-stated).

Wild Turkey Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell has never been a fan of ultra-aged whiskeys, preferring the top age to be 8-10 years—older than most American whiskeys, but not beyond that limit. His son, Master Distiller Eddie Russell, has long liked his whiskey a bit older, and Master’s Keep has largely been his domain. Eddie recounts that his first real exposure to ultra-aging whiskeys came in 1997—there was no room at Wild Turkey for the distillate—so he stored the barrels in the brick warehouses of nearby Stone Castle Distillery, which are no longer there. The brick environment caused the whiskey to age slower than in a rickhouse—to Eddie’s palate, an 8 year old tasted like a 4 year old aged at Wild Turkey. “We kept some of it until it got to 17 years old, and it was some of the most unique whiskey I’d ever tasted,” he says. “It was very layered but had an oaky finish on the back—a chewy finish.” That whiskey became the foundation for the older whiskeys within the Master’s Keep family.

The inspiration behind Triumph was the enthusiasm for rye shown by Eddie’s son Bruce, but it’s also meant to celebrate rye’s overall renaissance. Most rye had long been made in the northeast states of Maryland and Pennsylvania—even Jimmy Russell purchased rye from distilleries up there back in the day. But the last of those places began to shutter in the 1980s and rye production in the United States dwindled to less than 100,000 cases. Today it's approaching two million cases. This year's Master’s Keep showcases the categories luxury side. 52% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... There’s plenty of barrel influence on the nose here, a layer of char that tempers the grassy greenery that is otherwise prominent aromatically. Drying with a slight barnyard note of hay bales and saddle leather, the nose has an austerity that you rarely see in the world of rye, which normally gravitates to peppery pungency over everything else. Here, the rye grain is balanced by the barrel — without becoming particularly sweet, a nifty trick. The palate finds an impressive balance not often seen in the world of American rye. Spicy and peppery up top, then silky with notes of caramel and vanilla — so immersive and creamy you might think you’re drinking a bourbon. That’s probably intentional given Wild Turkey’s love of the corn-based whiskey, and as the experience shifts into notes of baked apples, butterscotch, and sweetened breakfast cereal. It’s actually a bit too fruity on the back end for me, reminding me of some older Canadian ryes, though it has a certain holiday charm that feels tailor-made for spice-laden cocktails, toddies, and the like. If anything, it’s a fun diversion from the parade of bourbons that Wild Turkey has been cranking out — as delightful as those have been. - drinkhacker.com

...This is an absolutely beautiful rye whiskey and really a testament to the quality of liquid that Wild Turkey is known for, but that price could make it a tough sell for some people. 95 points - therobbreport.com