Apologies to those following my “12 Rickhouses of Turkey” series. As some of you are aware, I’ve been recovering from a Covid-19 infection. Add that to the holidays and the blog posts needed to take a back seat (at least temporarily). Fortunately, Frank Dobbins is here to save the day! Not only is Frank reviewing an epic Wild Turkey expression (one of my all-time favorites), he’s reviewing an expression that means a great deal to him personally. I think you’ll enjoy this one.
As for the remainder of the “12 Rickhouses of Turkey,” it will continue very soon. Cheers! dj
Wild Turkey Master Distiller Selection is special to me, but not in the way you may think. There are so many corners of the whiskey universe dedicated to crowning, or at least debating, what the “best” whiskey is. When it comes to Wild Turkey, the 2006 Master Distiller Selection certainly has its fair share of admirers.
While it’s a bit odd considering there were roughly 6,000 export-only MDS bottles produced, it seems that enough Wild Turkey superfans have gotten their hands on this bottle (or a sample) to place it in rare air. One of those people is Mr. Rare Bird 101 himself, David Jennings, who previously reviewed this bottle in 2017 and fanned the flames by saying at the time, “it’s about as perfect as bourbon can get.”
This was just two short years after another major contender for the best Wild Turkey expression, Russell’s Reserve 1998, was released. Apparently, David didn’t make such claims lightly. With the brand’s modern-era turning into something of a golden age, it isn’t pure nostalgia that’s caused many to consider the 2006 MDS one of the best bottles in Wild Turkey history. No, the reason it’s received that nod is because it is pretty damn good.
But like I mentioned at the outset, that’s just one reason that MDS is special. The other reason is more personal. It’s fair to say a large part of Wild Turkey’s appeal is centered around the idea of family. We all have one, love ‘em or hate ‘em, and their presence or absence in our lives has an outsize impact on who we are. Wild Turkey itself is certainly defined by the presence of the Russells, now entering their seventh decade as part of the Wild Turkey family.
It’s incredible to think that Jimmy Russell got his start with the brand 70 years ago, and his impact has rippled throughout not just Wild Turkey, but the entire whiskey industry over that span. His historic tenure has paved the way for his son Eddie to put forth a Hall of Fame career. Not content to let two generations of Russells mold the brand, these days Eddie’s son Bruce is one of the brightest rising stars in whiskey, and he’s helping to completely reinvent folks’ perception of Wild Turkey. Looking back, who would’ve thought that Lawrenceburg, Kentucky would be producing some of the best whiskey on the planet?
The Russell family is American whiskey royalty, the stuff of legend, and surely many books will continue to be written in their name. My family, specifically my mother’s side of the family has loads of intriguing history as well, but most pertinent to this review is my maternal grandmother, Mary Louise Newsome. She passed away in late 2022 and her loss had a major impact on myself and my family. I knew that in the wake of that loss I wanted to do something that was both personally life-affirming, but would also serve as a way to steep myself in her memory. The answer I came up with was to purchase a truly once-in-a-lifetime bottle. I wanted a bourbon that I could share with the closest among my family and friends. A bottle I could sit back and savor while recounting the times spent playing Go Fish and sitting joyfully at her side. A bottle that would cause me to think of her every time it was opened. That bottle is the one I’ll be reviewing today, Wild Turkey’s 14-year-old Master Distiller Selection.
Wild Turkey Master Distiller Selection (2006 export)
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 107
Age: 14 years
Misc.: batch #MD-9206, bottle #3574; distilled by the Austin, Nichols Distilling Co., Lawrenceburg, KY
Tasted neat in a Glencairn after a few minutes rest …
Color: deep amber verging on over-steeped black tea
Nose: A toasted coconut and rich mocha aroma finds the nose at first pass with dark chocolate, chocolate wafers, clove, blood orange, and deep leather notes wafting out in their wake. Soon butterscotch appears, and a distinct red apple skin painted with hazelnut spread can be found thereafter. This generally trends toward a dark sweetness with a hint of black pepper and rosemary sprigs accenting the entire affair.
Taste: Dark chocolate crumbles away to reveal a hazelnut core with chunks of butterscotch and bits of dried apple lying in wait underneath. The first sip greets the tip of the tongue with a sizzle that quickly passes allowing the decadent flavors to seep into the palate and hold tight throughout the finish.
Finish: The finish adds a bit of cinnamon as the hazelnut note rises in prominence with the oak. Sweet leather and honeyed black tea contribute their part. It has a considerable length that gently recedes, opting for elegance over oomph. It’s not the longest finish, mind you, but it leaves a stark enough impression that it seems longer than it probably is.
Overall: Forgive my departure from more prosaic tasting notes, I simply wanted to take you along with me on that journey. This pour is a memorable experience, almost beyond reproach. What’s most gobsmacking isn’t merely the depth of the richness, but rather how distinct each layer of flavor is. Furthermore, what begins with multiple layers of distinct flavors slowly melts together – almost like an Italian rainbow cake – showcasing first its finely tuned parts, then reaching the finish as something greater than the sum of those parts.
Each time I reach for this bottle it leaves a strong impression on me. Not just because it’s superlative whiskey (and it is), but because it’s a pour that causes time to stand still. Each time I sip it I take those frozen moments to remember the role that family plays in all of our lives. The Russell family has played a huge role in the story of Wild Turkey and in turn this bottle of Wild Turkey is playing a huge role in how I remember my grandmother. There isn’t a distillery in the world that could make a whiskey as special as this one is to me.
Rating: 5/5 🦃
fd
Photo by Frank Dobbins.
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