What we’re drinking: Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Beacon
Where it’s from: Launched in 1942, the Lawrenceburg, KY-based Wild Turkey has been owned by drinks giant Campari since 2009. The Russell family (Jimmy, Eddie, Bruce) has presided over a remarkable run for the bourbon brand for more than six decades. Both Jimmy and Eddie Russell are enshrined in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.
Why we’re drinking this: I’ve been a longtime fan of the Master’s Keep collection, which has been running for a decade. According to the brand, the series was born from Master Distiller Eddie Russell’s “desire to push the boundaries of traditional bourbon-making by experimenting with aging techniques and finishes.” It’s an annual release produced in limited quantities, and Beacon marks the final release.
Beacon was crafted by Eddie Russell and Associate Master Blender (and Eddie’s son) Bruce Russell, whose name appears alongside his dad’s name on the bottle. It’s a blend of 16- and 10-year-old bourbons. The older whiskey was selected by Eddie, pulled from some of the last remaining barrels laid down in the original Wild Turkey distillery (before the property’s expansion in 2011). Bruce picked 10-year barrels that were among the first he produced alongside his father and grandfather, whiskey legend Jimmy Russell.
“This is a project me and dad have been working on for quite some time,” Bruce says. “We know we wanted the last one to be a collaborative thing.”
Let’s test it out.
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Behold, the release dates for all your favorite rare and limited-edition bottles, including Buffalo Trace, Booker’s and PappyHow it tastes: Master’s Keep Beacon comes in at 118 proof, the highest proof ever released in the MK collection. On the nose, I’m picking up a lot of candied orange, brown sugar and vanilla, three characteristics that continue on the palate, along with cherry cola, tea and oak spice. It also offers a nice, thick mouthfeel with a short finish. Overall, it’s an excellent coda to the Master’s Keep series.
Fun fact: Beacon is probably our second favorite of the Master’s Keep series, which includes 17 Year (2015), Decades (2016), Revival (2018), Cornerstone (2019), Bottled in Bond (2020), One (2021), Unforgotten (2022), Voyage (2023) and Triumph (2024). I personally loved Voyage, a collaboration between Eddie Russell and Dr. Joy Spence, the master blender of Appleton Estate Rum. Meanwhile, Eddie is partial to Revival. “That one was a sherry cask finish,” he says. “I got to go to Spain, find 20-some-year-old casks. It was completely different for us. It was only in there for 12 weeks — I wanted the bourbon to always be the star. The only problem ended up being that we sold the casks, and I wanted to do some more.”
Where to buy: Master’s Keep Beacon is available globally in limited quantities for a suggested retail price of $300.
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