Wild Turkey barrels its bourbon at 107 proof, low by modern standards, and matures it in wooden rickhouses where summer and winter push spirit in and out of the staves. For this release Eddie Russell also had barrels sitting in brick warehouses, where the temperature moves far less. Seventeen years of that combination produced a dump strength beneath the entry strength — water evaporating more slowly than alcohol, the opposite of the usual Kentucky outcome — and Wild Turkey bottled the result at 86.8 proof rather than cutting it to a house number. Wild Turkey describes the maturation as brick and wood.

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What proof is Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year?

Wild Turkey Master's Keep 17 Year is bottled at 86.8 proof, or 43.4% ABV. The bourbon went into barrel at 107 proof, and the strength dropped over seventeen years of maturation rather than concentrating upward.

Why is Master's Keep 17 Year bottled at such a low proof?

Wild Turkey attributes the low strength to the brick rickhouses that held part of this stock. Steadier temperatures and less air movement in brick let water evaporate more slowly than alcohol, so the barrels lost proof over seventeen years instead of gaining it.

Was Master's Keep 17 Year the first bottle in the Master's Keep series?

Yes. Wild Turkey introduced the Master's Keep series in 2015 with the 17 Year, the first release credited to Eddie Russell as Master Distiller. Nine more expressions followed before the collection closed with Beacon in 2025.