Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

A bit of a high cinnamon alcohol burn up front but yields to very smooth vanilla and toffee notes and finishes well.

Before moving to Texas, I lived in Colorado for 25 years. Every spring break, I’d drive out to the western part of the state to hike in the desert and visit the national parks in eastern Utah. On my way home, I’d always stop at a small local candy shop in Grand Junction that made the best toffee available on God’s green earth. This bourbon has managed to capture that in a glass. Well done Russells! This one takes a bit to open up in the glass. The nose, while initially muted, opens up into an amazing bouquet of caramel, brown sugar, vanillas, allspice, cinnamon, and the longer it sits, that amazing toffee note. No hint of the proof, which sets this one apart from Rare Breed. Many of the reviews here describe this as balanced, and I’m inclined to agree. All the bourbon flavors are there in consort, with the toffee note leading the charge. I love the nutty, buttery, caramel, almost milk chocolate notes from well aged turkey. I didn’t get this from 101 or the RR 10 Year (though that one DID have a lovely maple syrup note), and it really helps this bottle stand out as the top of the standard Wild Turkey expressions IMO. The high proof and no chill filtration really help. It’s just packed full of flavor, with no trace of the proof. A rare achievement for a high proof bourbon. I’m going 4.75 here. This is just outstanding. At $50, it’s probably one of the best values for quality in bourbon. This was not a store pick, just the standard single barrel offering. You can bet I’ll seek out a store pick when this one’s done! Cheers!

I’m a word.....balanced! Typical bourbon flavors and nose, nothing that stands out as different. I’m not saying that in a bad way, this is a really good classic bourbon that seems to have a just right balance of spicy and sweet, and I really enjoyed the finish. At a fairly high proof, it’s still easy to sip and enjoy. Only complaint, wish they would put the batch info on the bottles, just cause I’m a nerd.