Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year Old Bottled in Bond

Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year Old Bottled in Bond

Following the end of the American Civil War, the Ripy Brothers returned to their native state of Kentucky and together, opened a distillery on the slopes of a hill in Lawrenceburg. The distillery operated continuously for nearly fifty years until the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the sale of alcohol in the United States, was ratified. Following the end of Prohibition, the Ripy Brothers Distillery was reopened and a distillery executive named Thomas McCarthy took samples of maturing whiskey from the distillery on a turkey hunt with a group of friends. The next year, his friends asked him to bring "some of that wild turkey whiskey" on their next hunt, giving birth to the distillery's new name. Today, Wild Turkey Distillery is stewarded by Master Distiller Jimmy Russell and his son Eddie Russell (together, the pair have over 90 years of experience producing bourbon). "I was born and raised in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky," says Jimmy, "which was a small community when I was growing up, but there were four bourbon distilleries here, and you had families working all the distilleries. You wanted to get in the business. My grandfather and my father, me, and now my son, we've all been in the business." Wild Turkey Master's Keep series explores the premium end of American whiskey. Master's Keep 17 Year Old Bottled in Bond holds a special place in their lineup as the oldest whiskey they have on offer. Only the second expression with the bottled-in-bond designation from the producer, this 100-proof whiskey was hand-selected by Master Distiller Eddie Russell in order to create a truly big and bold expression. "We took the historic process and protocol of aging for four years to the next level and allowed the liquid to rest for 17 years. We aged and perfected this rare, 17-year-old bourbon in Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson rickhouses," says Russell.