Russell's Reserve Private Barrel Selection

DISTILLED: 12-10-13 AGED: 8 Years DUMPED : 10-31-22 BOTTLED: 11-08-22 BARREL #: 22-0660 WAREHOUSE: 7 FLOOR: 4 SELECTED BY: Eddie Russel for Spec’s Liqour NEAT NOSE - Huge Caramel Bomb with Vanilla PALATE - The palate is just as the nose suggests in a huge fashion. I don’t even get any oak notes. It’s almost as if I have a caramel chew in my mouth as I swirl this around on the palate. This is one of the best bourbons I’ve ever tatsted. The mouthfeel is kind of syrupy. FINISH - Smooth and Long BUY? - Without question. BUY AGAIN?? - Absolutely. Every pick I have the opportunity of grabbing. This is amazing. I wonder how it compares to the Russel’s Single Barrel offering.

Excellent, bold oaky flavor with a smooth finish.

15 Years “The Royal Family” (Moonshine restaurant pick)

Excellent - really quite exceptional. Syndicate No. 1 (The Century Bar) Distilled: 12-26-12 Dumped: 07-29-21 Bottled: 08-25-21 Barrel: 21-0835 Warehouse: F Floor: 4 8 years, 7 months

Bull City Bourbon Club pick, "Marmalade Toast" Barrel No. 22-0597 Warehouse M; Floor 4 Barrel filled 10-23-2013; Bottling date 11-30-2022 Age - 9 years, 1 month, 7 days Open 3 months Nose - Orange caramels, browned butter, toast, cinnamon, mint, pine needle, light oak, and medium ethanol. Palate - Orange peel, pine sap, cinnamon bun without the frosting, black pepper, and mint. Finish is medium-long with black pepper, dry oak, citrus cleaner, anise, and medium ethanol. These picks are an auto-buy for me, unless they're unreasonably priced. This isn't the best pick I've had, but certainly not the worst. A lot of herbal and conifer notes atypical of a Russell's, more savory than sweet. I dig it, but it's lacking the big cinnamon and caramel oomph.

Cherry bomb. Smooth. Heavy body. Best bourbon in the collection at the moment.