Review #376 - Russell's Reserve Private Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Solitary Confinement'
Wiseguy Lounge Barrel Pick Series: Part 8 of 20
While Russell's Reserve is available as a standardized NAS single barrel, there are also numerous private barrels - here's one picked by the Wiseguy Lounge bar. It's been named 'Solitary Confinement,' and it's bottled at the standard for Russell's single barrels: 55% ABV, or 110 proof.
Russell's Reserve Private Barrel - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Solitary Confinement'
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 75 (2024)
Strength: 55% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 70% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Leans sweet, with subtle dark cherry notes, maple brown sugar, and some candied pecans. There's a decent amount of oak, as well - a little dusty, but not too bitter. Nicely balanced overall.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel, and the first flavor is a blast of medicinal cherry - very medicinal. There's some sweeter Luxardo cherry as well, and then cherry cream soda - a bit of a red fruit bomb. Oak tannins add a spicy, almost fizzy element, and that oak has a medium influence overall. With time, more soda notes appear, even some root beer.
Finish: Red fruits and some blood orange reside in the finish, and while the tannins abate, there's still a medium oak influence. There are lingering notes of cola, and it's a medium length finish overall.
Final Note: A nice example of a private barrel from Wild Turkey - we often get hints of cherry in the Russell's Reserve brand, and this was a prime example, even turning more medicinal than usual. The soda and cola notes that appeared at the end of the palate and into the finish were very tasty, and it has a nice mouthfeel and texture at that 110 proof point.
Value for these single barrels is generally pretty good, as long as the price is reasonable - that's the case here, and we would be willing to pay for a bottle at this price.
Our Average Rating: 7.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.11
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
