If Buffalo Trace is my favorite distillery, Wild Turkey is 1A. What's funny is, they couldn't be more different. The history of the Buffalo Trace brand includes several names that are legends of American whiskey. The Wild Turkey brand has been largely built by one man. Buffalo Traces' grounds are made up of old brick rickhouses. It has a truly industrial feel. Wild Turkey's visitor center is truly impressive and modern, but made to look like an old tobacco barn that used to be so common around the Kentucky countryside. It also clings to the edge of a bluff that stands about 250 feet above the Kentucky River below. What Wild Turkey doesn't have in history, though, it makes up in character.
The real character of Wild Turkey is Jimmy Russell. Let me tell you, few are more of a character than that man. He can spin a story and the man is a riot. I remember walking into a local liquor store where he was signing bottles and telling stories. When I walked in, there were only a few people left in the store and I remember being kind of star struck. Yes, I said it, I was nervous meeting a master distiller because he's a celebrity in the industry. NERD ALERT!!!!! Anyway, I imagine he would be the bourbon equivalent of Yogi Berra.
Back to the whiskey! Here is a link to what Wild Turkey says about this bottle. http://wildturkeybourbon.com/product/russells-reserve-single-barrel/
The bottle I purchased was from an exclusive barrel picked out by Good Spirits Wine and Tobacco here in Northern Kentucky. It's my go to store and they have a fantastic selection. At any rate, the bottle is 110 proof, and I think I paid around 50 bucks for it. There's no age statement, but Jimmy Russell always says no bourbon worth a damn is older than 12 years, and he typically says the sweet spot is 8-12 years. Maybe we can assume it's around there?
THE NOSE: I don't have a sophisticated palate and nose, however I will say I do pick up citrus, specifically orange peel. I also can pick up on carmel, oak, and vanilla.
THE TASTE: On the front end there are a some sweet notes, carmel and toffee which is pleasant, there's a burst of spice that hits you too. That's what I love about Wild Turkey, they are definitely bold and I love that spice. Oak is strong in this one too. At the finish, though, you do get a bit of alcohol which I think is the only negative about this one.
THE VERDICT: I think this is a REALLY good bourbon. It has the bold spice that Wild Turkey is known for, but also has some really nice sweet notes. Also, this bourbon is NOT chill filtered. Chill filtering is basically where the distillery gets the whiskey very cold so that it separates out oils and fatty acids in the juice, then they run it through a filter to pull them out of the whiskey. It makes it clear and clean looking in the bottle, but strips out a lot of mouthfeel and in my opinion, flavor from the bourbon. I really like non filtered bourbons, and this one is compared to others, relatively low priced and many others are much harder to find. Because it hasn't been chill filtered it has a creamy mouth feel. This is a great bourbon, but may not be for beginners. Maybe people who have been drinking bourbon for a while and want to branch out to bolder flavor profiles would like this one. I drank it neat, but some may want to add a few drops of water or ice. This one is really good though, but maybe not as an introduction to bourbon.
Here's a couple more links about Jimmy Russell and the distillery:
http://www.drinkspirits.com/interview/interview-jimmy-russell-master-distiller-wild-turkey/
http://thewhiskeyjug.com/bourbon-whiskey/legend-jimmy-russell/
