Russell’s Reserve - 10 yr old

[NOTE: New label alert! I’ve had this bottle for a while and the new label has red lettering on a white background.]

Nose: It has a nice sweetness to it, with a some vanilla, raisin, caramel and a little butterscotch. It is more or less your standard (or, perhaps “classic”) bourbon smell, without having anything that particularly stands out. Palate: Flavor, flavor, flavor….the trick is, trying to figure out what they are. This has a very nice, oily mouthfeel and starts off with a blast of rye spice. It then settles down to classic bourbon flavor with a blast of pepper that hits the tongue and roof of your mouth as it finishes. The finish is right in the middle, length-wise and leaves a rye taste at the back of your throat towards the end. It isn’t harsh or burning, but the heat is kinda weird because it starts off warm and then just turns peppery, both black pepper and spicy pepper. This one is a bit hard to describe because there is competition going on in your mouth among the flavors but no one flavor really ends up winning. It has that classic “old school” bourbon taste that I imagine was enjoyed by our grandparents. It leaves the impression of being creamy and thick. Comments: Well….this is a Wild Turkey product and is named to honor the father and son team of master distillers, Jimmy and Eddie Russell, who have been at Wild Turkey a staggering combined time of over 100 years (some of it concurrent, of course). It is a small batch bourbon from hand selected barrels aged at least 10 years. The mash bill is 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% barley. It was usually found in the $30 range. This is a very good “work horse” bourbon. By that I mean, most seasoned bourbon drinkers will like this. It isn’t a “special occasion” bourbon, it is a good every day bourbon. Even if it isn’t your favorite and something you want to make your every day drinker, you’d still enjoy it. On the chance that it DOES really tickle your fancy, it is a solid choice to be an every day drinker. I prefer my bourbon sweeter, but I find no faults with the Russell’s Reserve 10 year old. Lastly, I think this would be a great bourbon for cocktails. That said, I’m cheap and generally will use lesser costing products to make a cocktail.