Russell's Reserve Single Barrel "#18-439" (Rickhouse CN A, Floor 4) K&L Exclusive Kentucky Straight Bourbon (750ml)

Staff Reviews

WB

Will Blakely

Will Blakely

Another season sees another round of exceptional barrels from the wealth of Wild Turkey's reserve stocks. In this case, my first impressions conjured cornflower, cherry and tobacco - an altogether pleasant, if straightforward nose. The depths therein, however, are anything but simple. Nutmeg, stewed apple, baking chocolate and a hefty dose of cinnamon take center stage backed up by dark sugar and prominent oak. There's a lot going on here, and I was glad to revisit it several times throughout the day. This is definitely not one to sleep on.

Notes

This delicious cask of Russell's Reserve is another stunning example of why the Wild Turkey distillery is simply the most underrated distillery in Kentucky. Distilled on December 21st of 2009 at the now-demolished wooden distillery that sat below the current facility. This cask spent nine long years on the fourth floor of Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson Warehouse A. These warehouses, about an hour's drive south from the distillery in Tyrone, are well known for putting out some of the distillery's best casks over the last couple of years. These warehouses were acquired sometime in the last few decades as Wild Turkey's production has expanded. Camp Nelson tends to have a slightly different character than the Tyrone warehouses, but not nearly as different as the stone warehouses in Frankfurt produced. This excellent cask, one of two distilled and aged identically in this year's batch, each has an extremely distinct character. Both have a little bit more honey and less spice compared with the Tyrone stocks. Interestingly, this cask was meant to be released in 2018, but someone reneged on the commitment, so it's spent the last year in Tyrone. We took the opportunity to snatch this top notch barrel. This is one of the most obvious and open Russell's we've ever bottled. The style here is opulent. Expect big sweet and savory wood tones, vanilla bean, pure raw honey and a velvety texture. A perfect example of the heights this special distillery can achieve.