Wild Turkey Grasp’s Maintain 2025 Is Right here: Beacon

Wild Turkey has simply introduced the tenth and ultimate launch in its Grasp’s Maintain assortment of whiskeys. “Beacon” is a 118-proof mix of 10- and 16-year-old bourbons, rigorously chosen by father-and-son duo Eddie and Bruce Russell. This bottling signifies a historic (and for followers, maybe bittersweet) ending to a sequence that helped catapult trendy Wild Turkey to widespread acclaim. 

The Grasp’s Maintain line began in 2015 and — except for 2017 — has been launched yearly since. Second-generation Grasp Distiller Eddie Russell needed to discover whiskeys past Wild Turkey’s foremost lineup, starting with a 17-year-old bourbon that grew to become the distillery’s oldest launch on the time. The 9 earlier releases have spanned ages, classes, blends, proofs, and finishes:

• 17 Yr (2015, bourbon)
• Many years (2016, bourbon)
• Revival (2018, bourbon completed in sherry casks)
• Cornerstone (2019, rye)
• Bottled-in-Bond (2020, bourbon, additionally 17 years outdated)
• One (2021, bourbon completed in toasted barrels)
• Unforgotten (2022, mix of bourbon and rye completed in rye casks)
• Voyage (2023, bourbon completed in rum casks)
• Triumph (2024, rye)

Beacon concludes the Grasp’s Maintain line with a mix of straight bourbon whiskeys. The 16-year-old bourbon was distilled between 2007 and 2008; in response to the model, these had been a number of the final barrels produced earlier than the 2011 distillery growth. The ten-year-old bourbon comes from barrels Bruce Russell produced in 2015, shortly after he joined the corporate and underneath the tutelage of his father (Eddie) and grandfather, Jimmy Russell. The packaging for Beacon options signatures from each Bruce and Eddie.

“In my eyes, Grasp’s Maintain Beacon bridges two pivotal moments of Wild Turkey’s wealthy legacy,” Eddie Russell instructed Meals & Wine.

“The 16-year-old bourbon comes from one of many ultimate batches produced on the unique distillery, whereas the 10-year-old choice dates again from Bruce’s first whiskey that he helped make alongside our distillery supervisor, Jimmy, and me,” Eddie provides.

For Bruce Russell, who at present serves as affiliate grasp blender, Beacon nods to the previous whereas seeking to the long run. “To see the sequence come full circle within the ultimate launch is one thing I’ll all the time be proud to have my title on,” Bruce tells Meals & Wine. “It not solely honors the place Wild Turkey has been, but in addition factors to the place we’re headed.”

Bruce additionally emphasizes Beacon as a showcase for Wild Turkey’s mixing fashion, leading to a layered consuming expertise. “The [primary] bourbon in Beacon is a strong 16-year-old that acts as the bottom and lays down a stable oak basis, enriching it with earthy notes of vanilla, darkish cherry, and brown sugar. Then, we combine in a 10-year-old bourbon to present it an extended, warming end that brings out mature oak, candy tobacco, and baking spices.”

The ultimate mix for Beacon was bottled at 118 proof. In response to Eddie Russell, that mark got here after in depth testing to make sure the bourbon balanced wealthy taste with a “clean and approachable high quality.”

A restricted, allotted launch, Grasp’s Maintain Beacon shall be distributed in main markets world wide beginning this Fall. It carries a steered retail value of $300 in the US.