A little background

While Wild Turkey is synonymous with the crowd favorite, and the cause of many a terrible morning, 101 label there is another offering from the distillery that you can regularly find on the shelf with a little more refinement. I am talking about Russell’s Reserve 10 year that is bottled at a lower strength than its cousin at 90 proof. Retail price of around $35.

(Tasted neat from a Tuath Glass)

Color

Light Copper

Nose

Vanilla and toffee accompanied by ripe cherries. Syrupy sweetness but with an underlying earthiness reminiscent of wet clay.

Palate

Silky with little to no heat. Maraschino cherries, vanilla, dusty corn syrup, and leather.

Finish

This dram saved the best for last with a surprisingly long finish where the oak takes over completely with toffee sweetness balanced by nutmeg, clove and cinnamon that linger at the back and sides of the tongue.

In closing

I’ve referred to Russell’s Reserve 10 year as an amazing “session whiskey” a lot over the last few years due to it’s ease to drink and its ability to provide enough interesting flavors to ruminate over. Overall at the price it is something that I believe most whiskey drinkers need to keep on hand.