Russell's Reserve Private Barrel Selection

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 14, 2020 I was on my way to work last February, and I stopped at my favorite liquor store. The time doesn’t matter. It was 8:37 am. The guy mentions to me that they were in the process of picking a barrel from Russell’s Reserve, and he pauses and says: “Say, you wouldn’t want to... nah, I’m sure you have better things to do than drink whiskey at 9 am.” I was offended. It’s like he didn’t know me at all. When it tried the three samples, there was a crappier version of Russell’s Reserve 10, which is truly impressive if you think about it. They also had a much softer, more tolerable version of Russell’s Reserve 10. I think they poured like 5 cups of sugar in the barrel, or cocaine or something. But then, in the middle, was a sample that was very different. It didn’t taste like Russell’s Reserve at all. It tasted like exceedingly high quality WT juice. I could easily see this barrel aging for another decade to become a Master’s Keep contender. It was almost impossible to believe it had any affiliation with RR. I like to think I had something to do with the section of this barrel. Or at the very least, my bourbon landlord knew that if he picked either of the other two barrels, I was going to give him shit every time I walked in there. Basically forever. Either way, I am no enjoying barrel # 20-0637, warehouse E (which I believe stands for excellence), floor 4. It’s aged just under 9 years. Nose is bourbon standard and well done. There’s cane sugar, lemon, caramel. Hint of cedar, possibly orange, but lemon is my main takeaway. Body has caramel, leather, cream, chocolate. Delicious. So smooth. Finish is black pepper. There’s salt too, and a very dry mouth feel. This finish reminds me of rum-finished bourbons, which I’m also typically a big fan of. This is simple, but so enjoyable. I would consider this to be a barebones, high quality representation of bourbon made by people that know what the hell they’re doing. At 55%! It’s not barrel finished, and nobody ever took this on a boat. It’s technique and experience from my favorite distillery in KY. I literally could drink this all day. Here’s my beef. I hate Russell’s Reserve. I’ve always hated Russell’s Reserve. I tried RR10 side by side with this bottle just to make sure I still hate Russell’s Reserve. I do. But I freaking love this. If someone over at WT takes heavenly pure barrels like this and then mixes it with whatever swill brings the batch quality down to the Draino substitute often referred to as Russell’s Reserve 10, then... I shall wag a finger at them. Verily. I can’t be objective. This is my baby. 5 stars, and I’ll defend it to the death. ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!

Westport Whiskey and Wine 20-0372