Wild Turkey Master's Keep Decades

Another great review by @talexander! I had the good fortune to drink from this very same bottle of Master's Keep when I attended @Nozinan's epic November 2018 session. BOLD may be an understatement. This is a BIG whisky on all fronts. We tried this back to back with Master's Keep 17 YO, also at barrel proof, tipping the scales at the fly weight class of 43.4%. Perhaps the contrast in style left a bigger than bold impression of "Decades".

Thank you @talexander for sharing this whisky with me twice.

@talexander, thanks for your review. Sounds great.

I’m jealous! I’ve got quite a soft spot (or a hard-on?) for Wild Turkey! This one sounds fantastic!!!

@talexander Wow! I usually don’t get excited by Bourbon review but that much complexity is appealing.

Sounds amazing! I have been wanting to buy a bottle of this since it was first released, but just can't bring myself to spend $130 (I have a self imposed $100 limit per bottle). Do you think it is worth a one time splurge?

@gfc Rules are made precisely so that you can make exceptions once in a while...

@Nozinan @gfc Unfortunately, a hobby like this sometimes requires spending a bit more than $100 on a bottle once in a while.....the cost of whisky seems to be getting higher and higher every year!

@gfc, @talexander was willing to make the expenditure because he had tasted it first.

A proven-to-be-superb to your taste whiskey is worth an extra expenditure. A rumoured-to-be-superb by others' taste? Maybe, and often not. Tasting the whiskey first is huge.

I recently passed up a $ 120 bottle of Old Fitzgerald 11 yo Bottled in Bond, because of the price. If I had had the opportunity to have tasted it, I might well have changed my mind.

@Victor That's actually not true - I bought this bottle based on reviews, awards and it was on sale (and context - I was at the distillery, so I was excited to buy SOMETHING). I had never tasted it before I purchased it (at least, not that I remember). Many of my "splurge" purchases (especially old, rare and indie bottlings) are done blind, so to speak. If I want to try something, and I think I'll like it, but there is no other way for me to try it, I'll often buy the bottle if the opportunity arises. Otherwise, I'm stuck with LCBO offerings (as long as they are at the tasting bar), and am at the mercy of what my friends have and what is available at decent whisky bars (where I am paying much more per ounce than I would be paying if I just buy the bottle).

There is also a certain excitement when you pony up for a splurge bottle, gather your friends around and ceremoniously open it to share. That's what I did with this one; that same night, I opened a SMWS Bushmills (which are not easy to find) which I paid close to double what I paid for the Wild Turkey. I bought the Bushmills blind because I figured it was a safe bet: I really like the distillery, I like most SMWS products and I knew sharing something this scarce it would bring immense joy to myself and my friends.

My mistake. Your detailed reference to your tour as part of your review led me to think that you had tasted Decades as part of your tasting experience. I was aware of that other part of you that likes to anticipate the big new experience into the unknown, but the tour description led me to assume otherwise.

@Victor Makes sense - the tasting was relatively standard, except we tried the new Longbranch (quite good but not amazing). Four Roses kept to the standard stuff too, which I can get in Ontario...The others were much more interesting.

@Victor I should also add that if I'm buying a bottle for investment, whether or not I like the liquid is almost irrelevant (and those are usually the bottles I pay the most for). The factors that usually go into my purchase decision are scarcity, age (both the age of liquid and how long ago it was bottled), if my potential purchase price is lower than global market value and if the liquid is generally accepted as being very good (few whiskies that are generally accepted as poor go up in value, despite scarcity or collectibility, except maybe the risible Loch Dhu). If those factors are favourable, then I figure its value should rise over time. I have never tasted the vast majority of my investments (exceptions are Ardbeg 1977, Pappy 20, a Karuizawa, Four Roses 125th and a couple others).

@talexander, I always look forward to getting together with you and sharing a few bottles. Your picks are interesting and never, ever, dull. We've tasted a lot of great whisky together, can't wait for the next session.

@Nozinan @talexander You guys are nudging me towards a purchase. Christmas is coming up after all. @Victor I have always told myself I would pay more if I tasted a whisky and thought it was worth it, though I haven't done so yet.

@gfc I wasn't suggesting you get it, or that you don't. I tried it...it's good but I tried 20 good whiskies that night. I was just saying sometimes the rules we set for ourselves need to be disregarded. My 2018 resolution, for instance, will not be realized. I am close but I will be over. Maybe next year.