The Thirsty Travellers are Wild Turkey Master’s Keep fans, so we were thrilled when a new expression, Bottled in Bond, arrived on our doorstep last week.

The bottle had been individually engraved, which was a nice touch to an already stylish release.

To be labelled ‘bottled in bond’, a whiskey must be the product of a single distiller in a single season—spring (January to June) or autumn (July to December)—aged for a minimum of four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at 50% ABV.

Bottled in Bond is only the second Bottled in Bond whiskey released by the distiller. Wild Turkey’s first-ever Bottled in Bond whiskey was released in 2007 and was the oldest American whiskey entrant in the US market at 15 years of age.

The latest Bottled in Bond been aged for 17 years in Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson rickhouses in Kentucky.

Eddie Russell, Master Distiller at Wild Turkey, said: “This expression is a nod to the past, both of our own heritage and the heritage of American whiskey-making as a craft.” 

Official tasting notes for the bourbon mention “an enticing taste and aroma of toasted oak, apple and dark cherry highlighted by the sweet confectionary flavors of vanilla, brown sugar and toffee. At 100 proof (50% alc. by volume), the enjoyable, lingering finish is complete with dark notes of mocha, smoke and spice.”

Our bourbon-loving neighbours invited us over to christen their new outdoor pizza oven last night, so we took the bottle for a crowd-sourced taste test.

Guests agreed that Bottled in Bond was a pleasure to sip – a complex, balanced and multi-layered bourbon.

The limited release Master’s Keep Bottled in Bond is initially available only at Dan Murphy’s at RRP $250 and to the wider market from October.