Review: Master's Keep Beacon Is a Tribute to Russell Family History

This final Master’s Keep release is a blend of two older bourbons—one selected by Eddie Russell and the other by his son Bruce

September 24, 2025 –––––– Danny Brandon, , , ,

For the past decade, followers of the Kentucky-based Wild Turkey Distillery have been treated to the Master’s Keep collection, a series of high-end annual releases that often tread beyond the distillery’s usual profile. Master’s Keep was created in 2015 by Eddie Russell—son of legendary master distiller Jimmy Russell—who also created Russell’s Reserve in 2001, and has helmed the Master’s Keep project from the beginning. The series kicked off with an impressive 17 year old bourbon—even today, Eddie hails it as the “most unique whiskey we’ve ever released”—which was bottled at the fairly low cask strength of 86.8 proof. That whiskey hit shelves the same year that Eddie was promoted to master distiller, and many saw it as a passing of the torch, with Eddie coming into his own as a whiskey maker.

The first batch was intended as a one-off, but Wild Turkey then decided to turn Master’s Keep into an annual series, with each entry highlighting a unique aspect of the production process. Many of the subsequent entries have focused on well-aged bourbon just like the original, but some, like One, Revival, and Voyage, have also featured cask finishing. We’ve also seen rye enter the picture through releases like Cornerstone, Unforgotten, and Triumph—which are credited to Eddie’s son, associate master blender Bruce Russell, who’s a big proponent of rye whiskey and has been playing a larger role in the production process in recent years.

Above all else, the one unifying factor of the series is quality: We’ve tasted them all (except for 2017’s batch, which was only available in Australia), and none have ever scored below 91 points, with over two-thirds of them rated at 93 points or higher. Three have made appearances on our Top 20 lists over the years, with Decades named our No. 3 Whisky of 2017, One named our No. 10 Whisky of 2021, and Voyage becoming our No. 5 Whisky of 2023.

As Master’s Keep enters its 10th year, Wild Turkey shared the news that the 2025 batch will be the final one in the series for the time being. The new expression, named Beacon, is taking things back to basics—showcasing well-aged bourbon stocks that were hand-picked by both Eddie and Bruce Russell.

Blend of Memories

Beacon is fairly straightforward by Master’s Keep standards, featuring just two bourbons in the blend and no cask finish. According to Bruce, once he and his father knew that Beacon would be the final Master’s Keep release, the plan was for both of them to work closely together to make the project as collaborative as possible. They each selected one blend component that held some significance in their careers at the distillery.

Eddie decided on a 16 year old bourbon, featuring stocks that he laid down much earlier in his career. Specifically, this bourbon was distilled sometime between 2007-2008—right around the time that he was named associate master distiller at Wild Turkey. These specific barrels were aged at Camp Nelson, 20 miles south of Lexington where the distillery maintains several warehouses. Camp Nelson has reached almost legendary status among the Wild Turkey faithful, with its rickhouses featuring prominently in the highly coveted Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse series. Eddie also confirmed that this liquid represents the very last remaining barrels that were distilled at the original Wild Turkey Distillery, which was the brand’s main production hub before an expansion and move in 2011.

Bruce’s selection was a 10 year old bourbon, which came from one of his very first production runs at Wild Turkey. In January 2015, when Bruce was looking to make the leap from brand ambassador to blender, his family invited him out to the distillery to get some hands-on experience. What followed was a crash course in distilling, during which Bruce handled his own production run alongside Jimmy, Eddie, and former distillery manager Jim Sanders. The team worked through all of the production steps manually, from grain intake through cooking, fermentation, and distilling. (Jimmy ran the stills far slower than normal for this run.) Bruce recalls a particularly humorous moment when it came time for him to handle the yeast, during which his grandfather sanitized all of the lab’s metal equipment by hand with an old lighter. According to Bruce, the whole production run accounted for 2,000 barrels, most of which were blended into Russell’s Reserve 10 year old. But the very best ones were set aside, and he figured this would be the perfect time to put them to use. “It’s probably the only whiskey that I’ll ever distill at Wild Turkey,” he jokes, adding that the distillery usually runs on an automated system, and that manual production runs like the one he did in 2015 typically result in things going awry.

In a way, Beacon can be seen as yet another passing of the torch within the Russell dynasty, as Eddie gave greater responsibility to Bruce. Though Bruce has worked on previous releases in the series, Beacon marked the first time he was formally credited for a Master’s Keep expression—with his signature appearing alongside his father’s on the bottle’s neck. And you can really see his influence shine through in this release. Eddie notes that Bruce tends to gravitate toward higher ABVs than the other Russells. Beacon was bottled at 59% ABV, making it the highest-proof offering in the series.

Alongside the proof, the SRP is also up this year: coming in at $300, compared to the $275 seen in recent releases like Triumph and Voyage. But considering how rare the blend ingredients are, it seems understandable.

How Does It Taste?

Sweet gobs of caramel, vanilla, and toffee on a soft, candy shop nose tempered by soft aged oak, worn leather, and a hint of tobacco leaf. A powerful palate offers jammy raspberry, followed by lively pepper spice and cigar box, while water brings out the caramel and vanilla sweetness. A long finish intertwines earthiness and sweetness. It comes on a bit strong on the palate, but there’s no denying its sweet, flavorful, beautifully aged complexity.—David Fleming

Score: 94
ABV: 59%
SRP: $300