American Whiskey Review #88: Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel /r/bourbon Pick “Fruit Stand” 8 Year

Distillery: Wild Turkey.

Region: Kentucky

Age: 8 Year. Distilled on November 21, 2011. Bottled in October of 2020.

ABV: 55.00%

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/MarrowX

Barrel Number: 20-0763

Color: 1.6, Mahogany/Henna Notes.

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Nose: It smells quite tasty, though it is a bit of the standard “bourbon-y” smell. There’s a ton of caramel, vanilla, and a bit of charred wood.

Palate: The very first sip is really, really rich. It tastes of a really good salted caramel. There’s a hint of vanilla. It’s so rich that there’s a buttery element to this. With a few more sips, you get a bit of caramel creme candy. It’s really easy to drink at full proof and doesn’t seem to need any water at all.

Finish: Medium in length. The vanilla and caramel sticks around with some charred wood popping in as well.

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Conclusion: Sometimes simplicity is a good thing and this pick of Wild Turkey for /r/bourbon truly exemplifies that. There’s not a ton going on, it’s got a fairly standard flavor profile of caramel and vanilla. However, everything is executed to perfection. It smells so inviting, just luring you in to dive right in. The first sip is so rich that it’s almost intoxicating with a delicious, buttery salted caramel. The finish leaves it lingering long enough that you want to reach again for another sip. I have to say, if I had a bottle of this, it would not survive very long on my shelf. Sad to have missed out on this /r/bourbon pick but amazing job by /u/t8ke and co once again!

Final Score: 81.

American Whiskey Review #88, Bourbon Review #66, Whisky Network Review #382

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.