Russell's Reserve 2002

Neat. Neck pour. Nose is somewhat brighter than I expected for 16 year WT product. Caramels, bright cherries and some WT nuttiness are the first notes to leap out at me. The fruits on this are surprising intense. Raspberries, cherries and strawberries. A nice vanilla wraps all the fruit together with a nice sweetness. Sitting with it for 20 minutes, the dark notes start coming through. A tremendous amount of baking spices and burnt caramels. Only a hint of oak which is very surprising. Very nice, creamy texture. All that vanilla, red fruits, and cinnamon dominate the tongue. The flavors are surprisingly muted for the initial swallow and then upper cut you with caramel and oak. And more oak. And more oak. And more oak. On subsequent sips, the vanilla sweetness becomes more prevalent but can’t overcome that oak. I can’t believe how the oak was mostly a background note on the nose at first and then just punches you relentlessly in the face in the finish. It’s a fun and interesting experience but I wouldn’t call it delicious. It’s special but not upper echelon. I’ll return to it in a few months and see if it opens up to take it to a truly elite level.

slightly oaky, but plenty of body with a decent amount of burn & sweet. biggest hindrance... the burn gets in the way of the taste whereas in the booker’s 30th the proof enhances the flavor. overall not bad at all 👍

Great pour - slightly too oaky on the finish is the only criticism. Classic RR profile but elevated

The color is a vibrant, rich amber, with a nose that is full of dry oak, leather, cinnamon, clove, campfire smoke, molasses and hints of vanilla and burnt caramel. The palate is dry and full of campfire smoke, dried oak, leather, tobacco, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and some interesting hints of rye spiciness. The finish is medium long with a mouth full of campfire smoke and dried oak while the spiciness fades and reveals more of the vanilla.