First Taste—Russell's Reserve Single Barrel
Even
while the Bourbon-lover world is reeling at the news that Maker’s Mark
has dropped its alcohol level, the latest Russell’s Reserve is hitting
the market at a supercharged 110 proof.
The
new single-barrel whiskey, made by Wild Turkey, has also not been
chill-filtered. This is the second foray by Wild Turkey into the
single-barrel arena. The company has long made Kentucky Spirit at the
101-proof level, which longtime master distiller Jimmy Russell has said
represents an optimal alcohol percentage (50.5 percent by volume).
However, the Russell’s Reserve line that he has developed with his son
and heir apparent Eddie has come in at different proofs. The initial
release, a 10-year-old Bourbon, and the six-year-old rye are both set at
90 proof. None of the Russell’s Reserve products mention Wild Turkey on
the label, although the company has been transparent about its origin:
the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.
While
an interview with the creators could not yet be arranged, the company,
Austin Nichols, a subsidiary of Campari, has released some information
about the whiskey. It is described as a collaboration of the
father-and-son Russell team, who chose barrels for their quality from
the center floors of the aging warehouses. Those locations are often
thought to provide the best climate conditions for Bourbon maturation.
Temperatures can differ quite a bit from floor to floor during the
summer in the multistory maturation facilities called “rickhouses.”
Booker’s Bourbon, a Jim Beam product, is also sourced from similar
locations. Other superpremiums, such as Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel,
come from higher floors, however.
This
is Wild Turkey’s first unfiltered Bourbon. The chill-filtering process
is used to remove fat compounds from whiskey that form in the cold. It
is done for cosmetic reasons. The liquid is chilled and strained, so
that it does not fog up during shipping or when ice is added. In recent
years, a trend to forgoing that process has developed as enthusiasts
believe it can rob whiskey of flavor.
Single-barrel
Bourbons are, as the name suggests, the products of a solitary cask.
Most whiskeys are blended from many casks with the aim to reproducing
the exact same flavor batch after batch. While single barrels are chosen
with an aim toward consistency, the product is almost guaranteed to
vary slightly from batch to batch. The Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel
does not provide a barrel number—as is sometimes done in that genre—nor
any information regarding age. It does, however, contain the words
“small batch,” which seem almost redundant as a single barrel is as
about as small as a batch can be.
But we’ll not quibble over semantics. The Bourbon is fantastic.
(Cigar pairings notes on next page)
Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey (110 proof, or 55 percent alcohol by volume, $49.99 for a 750-ml bottle)
APPEARANCE:
Deep, lush amber color in keeping with the thick No. 4 “alligator”
char, which is a Wild Turkey hallmark, and the high proof, which
indicates less to almost no dilution with water. Legs are firm, slow and
fat.
NOSE:
The caramel, toffee and vanilla you’d expect from a big, bold Bourbon
like this are all there, but also a candied aroma that’s honeyed, floral
and fruity.
PALATE:
Explosive in the mouth. A big burst of sweetness, hard candy, orange
and pear is countered by a transition to savory flavors, caramel, nougat
and toffee. Then comes a woody, smoky phase. This whiskey offers a
virtual panorama of flavors with paramount complexity and the sense that
it is shifting gears, one after the other.
FINISH:
A very long pleasant end. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact finish as
most of the tasting notes of the palate come back for an encore, but as
you let the experience fade you’ll be feed constant reminders. Risk the
clouds that adding a chunk of ice will bring to this non-chill-filtered
Bourbon and you’ll be rewarded further.
CIGAR PAIRING: Fuente Fuente OpusX Forbidden X (5
inches by 50 ring gauge, unrated) A cigar that warms up to quite
savory, meaty flavors with a hint of leather, it transforms with the
whiskey, which searches out sweet and fruity qualities in the tobacco.
The Forbidden X also enhances and hastens that second wave of toastiness
in the Russell’s Reserve.
Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro (6
inches by 52 ring gauge, $25, 95 points, Cigar of the Year 2009) A lot
of tobacco is packed into this dark, pressed, solid cigar, yet it draws
perfectly, delivering a rich smoke full of hearty, resonant coffee,
cocoa and spice flavors that saturate the palate. The nutty notes of
this cigar mesh almost perfectly with the floral and fruity effects of
the whiskey, creating the sense of a chocolate confection of great
complexity. The rich woodiness of the Russell’s is greatly enhanced with
the sense of walnuts and sweetness of the Padrón is teased out. As with
many great pairing, it is sometimes hard to tell which component, the
cigar or the spirit, is chipping into the overall experience.
