Russell's Reserve Single Barrel
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:05 pmFor those who might remember, a few years ago Wild Turkey released a bourbon by the name of Tribute. It was a fifteen year old wonder, certainly one of the best bourbons I can remember. It was extraordinarily rich and creamy and a great balance of flavors. In hopes that its equal, or even near equal, would lie within the new bottle of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, I purchased one today and rushed it home with a police escort to taste it. There is no age statement (not a bad thing) on the bottle but it does say that it was specially barreled into No. 4 (alligator) char barrels and then hand picked by Jimmie or Eddie Russell for bottling.
It is bottled at 110 proof and is excellent bourbon and has the very qualities that Wild Turkey is best known for. The aroma has a good dose of leather, toffee, vanilla, rye grain, and maybe a whiff of brown sugar. The rye struts about as if it owned the place, but it cannot ride herd over the barrel richness.
In my opinion, this bourbon embodies the best qualities of bourbon. It is a stand up bourbon with loads of flavor (I cut it to about 105 proof) that is as American as overalls.
I dared to cut this fellow to 82.5 proof (30 ml of RRSB and 10 ml of filtered water or 30ml X 110 proof = 3300 divided by 40ml (the new volume) = 82.5 proof) and he still held the rich barrel flavors. In fact, I might make it a practice to cut this bourbon, as above, by 25% so good did I think it was at this lower proof.
It is bottled at 110 proof and is excellent bourbon and has the very qualities that Wild Turkey is best known for. The aroma has a good dose of leather, toffee, vanilla, rye grain, and maybe a whiff of brown sugar. The rye struts about as if it owned the place, but it cannot ride herd over the barrel richness.
In my opinion, this bourbon embodies the best qualities of bourbon. It is a stand up bourbon with loads of flavor (I cut it to about 105 proof) that is as American as overalls.
I dared to cut this fellow to 82.5 proof (30 ml of RRSB and 10 ml of filtered water or 30ml X 110 proof = 3300 divided by 40ml (the new volume) = 82.5 proof) and he still held the rich barrel flavors. In fact, I might make it a practice to cut this bourbon, as above, by 25% so good did I think it was at this lower proof.