Russell’s Reserve SB Side by Side Showdown!

A great example in bourbon of how aging in the same geographic region & distillery can still yield distinct differences

Russell’s Reserve BevMo Single Barrel Select

DISTILLERY	Wild Turkey
REGION	Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
AGE	8 Years – 6 Months Warehouse: A & Floor: 4 Barrel # 22-0457
STRENGTH	55% ABV (110 Proof)
MASHBILL	75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley
MSRP	$70

Russell’s Reserve Bottle Barn Single Barrel Select

DISTILLERY	Wild Turkey
REGION	Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
AGE	9 Years – 7 Months Warehouse: Camp Nelson A & Floor: 4 Barrel # 22-0102
STRENGTH	55% ABV (110 Proof)
MASHBILL	75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley
MSRP	$70

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In this blind tasting, I am comparing the two bottles listed ( the glasses were marked with a colored sticker and then shuffled) – RR Pick from BEVMO! – 9 Years (Warehouse: A & Floor: 4) – RR Pick from Bottle Barn – 9 Years (Camp Nelson A & Floor: 4) – glasses were marked with a colored sticker and then shuffled

GLANCE

Both are clear with a rich brown & gold hue. Deep intensity

NOSE

CNA Bottle Barn – Dusty cashews, toasty pancakes, brown sugar, caramel and oak. As it opens up in the glass, there were aromas of cooked pears, apricot, dusty cherries, cooked pasta and fresh bread with hint of honey. Clean with pronounced intensity

Warehouse A BevMo – Dried cherries, sweet oak, dusty wood shavings, spicy cinnamon and pistachio. Clean with overall medium intensity

PALATE

CNA Bottle Barn – Black pepper, tobacco, cinnamon, stewed jams with 50% dark chocolate. Towards the middle of the palate I got french toast and blueberries. Mouthfilling, medium sweetness with pronounced intensity. I found it creamier in the front of the palate.

Warehouse A BevMo – Fresh cherry, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and honey. Watery to mouthfilling, medium sweetness and medium flavor intensity.

FINISH

CNA Bottle Barn – Long with some complexity. Floral, ginger, clove, black tea, honey

Warehouse A BevMo – Short to medium and simple overall. Corn, baked bread and hint of banana

CLOSING REMARKS

RR Pick from Bottle Barn (Camp Nelson A & Floor: 4) – Comes in 1st Place! Main talking point here is that the CNA pick really sets itself apart from the BEVMO pick on the palate. On the palate it was more complex with black pepper, tobacco, stewed mixed berry jam, french toast, 50% dark chocolate and blueberries. RR Pick from BEVMO! (Warehouse: A & Floor: 4) – 2nd Place This expression was more oaky, sweet and caramel on the nose. Palate was essentially fresh cherries, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and honey. On the palate and finish this one lacked compared to CNA from Bottle Barn. The mouthfeel of CNA Bottle Barn pick was better at coating the mouth. The creaminess aided in helping carry the flavors. The watery and light heft feeling of the BevMo pick made it feel substantially reduced in flavor intensity compared to Bottle Barn. Both picks hold the Wild Turkey flavor profile and are good-great drams (one being significantly better than the other). For a private barrel selection, I have higher expectations than a regular single barrel. Camp Nelson A is notoriously known to deliver some amazing Wild Turkey gold, so no surprise here. What surprised me is by how much the CNA Bottle Barn pick outpaces the BevMo.

The bourbon craze seems to get more intense in each coming year. One of the bottles that adds to the frenzy is the infamous Russell’s Reserve 13 Year. Many have mentioned that Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel from Camp Nelson A is at par or better than RR 13. I would love to blind RR 13 against these three. It was a great experience in getting a deeper understanding of the Wild Turkey. Cheers!