Sometimes even us New Englanders get lucky...
Today I had the distinct honor and pleasure to meet Wild Turkey's master distiller and living legend Jimmy Russell.
What I call "the best little liquor store in Boston", Federal Wine & Spirits was able to convince Jimmy Russell to stop off
on his way to a Celtics game for a tasting of the latest release of Russell's Reserve 10 year old (90 proof).
First off. I would have to say that Jimmy Russell is one of the nicest, most approachable men that I have ever met.
And it was a real treat to hear him talk about his bourbon. The fact that we got to taste it too was an added bonus!
My only regret is that my whiskey buddy MikeK could not be there to share the experience.
(He said something about having to work at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Wednesday. Alas, if only MikeK's boss was a whiskey drinker!)
Now I'm a rookie at doing tasting notes but I will put forth my best efforts; for Mr Russell, for MikeK, and for those of you who have put up with my ramblings up to this point.
The nose of this bourbon reminds me of other Wild Turkey products that I've had in the past, unfortunately we only had the one whiskey so there was no side-by-side comparisons happening To me, it seemed sweeter than I expected, like candy, perhaps due to it's lower alcohol content?
For taste I get caramel and a little vanilla. (I know this is pretty weak but my palate is still very underdeveloped) Mr Russell tells us he doesn't like to keep the whiskey in the barrel longer than 12 years because then the wood dominates the flavor too much. More on this later...
The finish is nice and smooth with very little burn (again probably due to it's 90 proof), the finish is not huge but it's not all that short either.
I think this is a very nice bourbon. Jimmy (can I call him Jimmy?) tells us that they reduced the proof from the traditional 101 down to 90 because "people who drink 101 get drunk, but folks who drink 80 or 90 proof don't..." okay, then he explained that you don't see 101 in bars very often, it scares people away. So the 90 is so it can be seen in more bars and enjoyed by more people. I think the 90 is a nice middle ground between the 80 and the 101 proofs. Although now I am interested in finding a bottle of the older Russell's Reserve 101 and doing a little taste comparison of my own.
The liquor highlight of the day was when, after most of the people had left, a bottle of Wild Turkey Tribute came out. 15 years young and 101 proof as Jimmy intended it to be, yee haa! The difference was amazing. The nose was huge, something I could just sit there and smell all day long, I wish they made a Tribute air freshener! I cannot even think about reviewing that whiskey only to say that, to quote a friend, "it was phenomenal." Unfortunately it was priced a little bit out of my range, so I thoroughly enjoyed the whiskey and went on my way. I do find it interesting that Wild Turkey would issue it's Tribute to Jimmy Russell with a vintage that he would not recommend. Hmmm.... I wish I could ask him about that! Well hopefully they will grant my wish in the near future as Jimmy has promised to return to Boston early next year for a "proper" tasting; side-by-sides, the whole 9 yards! I hope that MikeK's boss will allow him a little time off for that event...
Thank you for listening to my whiskey induced rant.
I hope that you all are fortunate enough to meet Jimmy Russell in person and enjoy his fine bourbon!
- Art