Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye

Rating: 17/23 N: Rich and full; there's this nice big woodiness, yet it doesn't come across as over-oaked. There's a hint of sweetness here and there, but mostly I'm getting a dry, bold wood mixed with toasted grain, a faint nuttiness (peanut), a hint of some sort of citrus (tangerine?), and a little bit of spices. This isn't what I'd consider to be a typical rye profile, but it's so enticingly bold and complex. I'm already a fan. P: This is a rich rye with a substantial fullness, in large part due to its fairly bitter backing that mixes wood with plain grain nicely. There's a nice fruity character hanging out that's in the apricot range. There's a nice white pepper spiciness to this too. I do, however, get a bit of meatiness suggesting there's some youthful, impure distillate in here. This is much richer and fuller than the regular Russell's Reserve 6 year rye. This also isn't as sweet, yet it maintains a similar complexity. Immediately, I have no doubt that I prefer this one. It lacks the forceful dill austerity that I like in Kings County Empire Rye, but the complexity and balance here are better, and the harshness is lower too. Whistlepig PiggyBack is more funkily herbal than this is, but it's less full and comes across as a little sweet in comparison. Pikesville is also substantially sweeter and fruitier. F: The finish dries out a bit, bringing out more grain and dry wood, while the fruit largely disappears. A little bit of mineral comes in too. - Conclusion - This is a very good rye. I like it better than the regular Russell's Reserve 6 (which is a high 15 to low 16) by a clear margin because of its richness (even when this is a neck pour and the 6 is heavily aerated). This doesn't leap out to me as an amazing rye, but it's very good. Kings County Empire Rye, Pikesville, and Whistlepig PiggyBack at times seem better. Russell's reserve Single Barrel bourbon always seems better, though it had a bit more (not a ton more) oxygen in my comparisons. Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 with a solid amount of oxygen is more complex, but also sort of harsher and more youthful. I'm not sure which to choose between the two here. I think I'm looking at a high 16 to low 17 here, but I can imagine an 18. Geeze, am I going to end up giving all of the ryes I like a 16? No, that seems wrong. I think a 17 is reasonable and can even imagine an 18. A 19 is a no-go, particularly since I just gave Dad's Had Cask Strength a 19 and that is clearly a better rye. I think this will be a 17 for now, possibly with a substantial increase likely after it has a few months of oxygen.

I always thought this and the single barrel bourbon version had the barrel info on the bottle, but I guess I was mistaken. That's certainly a bit of a let-down, but I'm still excited and have been for many years to finally try this, since everything Wild Turkey puts out is fantastic (minus the celebrity failure that unfortunately has their name on it). Vanilla, and lots of it, is the main scent here. It almost smells like a birthday cake, but it's source, the super charred oak, is enough to shake the hallucination. Only after remembering that this is a rye whiskey was I actually able to detect the rye grain on the very end of the nose; you could easily trick me into thinking this was a heavily aged 101 bourbon. My palate immediately could tell this was a rye, because the spice quickly sinks into the gums, and burns any cuts found on the roof of the mouth with the iconic, bright spice. Similar to the smell, however, there is a decent sweetness here, coming from the barrel but also being mellowed by the oak at the same time. There is a boring finish of more of the same, until you add air. One breath in causes an explosion of mint and fresh rye grain to rocket out like fire, with all the spiciness that I would expect from proper rye. The finish is plenty hot, but from flavor and not so much the proof, with the oak sweetness from before adding a good balance. I was most excited about this pick from my recent haul, and for good reason. Wild Turkey always produces quality, and with what few of their single barrel products that I've had, I can still say that they are just as vulnerable to bad barrel picks as anyone else, because they've not always been good. However, even with their bourbon, Wild Turkey clearly knows how to use rye, and make it into a good whiskey or high-rye bourbon. Put that into an elevated product line like Russell's and pick out a good barrel like this one, and it's an easy winner every time for a more potent, special rye experience. The only improvement that I think can be made is the addition of barrel information on the bottle. Without it, I'm less likely to buy this product again, because I can't tell if I've had that barrel before or not. Plus, with the growing number of online documentation and reviewing of individual barrels, it would also be possible to compare and contrast different barrel flavors. This risks people ruining the product line by finding an exceptional barrel and then scalping the price (as so many single barrel whiskeys are subject to), but then again, what is whiskey if not annoying a majority of the time?

Pretty faint nose with the predominant note being a grassy rye grain; like someone grabbed a fresh stalk and ran it through a grain mill. Digging deeper there is some citrus zest, vanilla, and ginger. This is a decent nose, but quite frankly I want a lot more of it. Palate pops more than the nose, opening with some caramel, vanilla, and lemon peel, transitioning in the mid-palate to candied baking spices in the form of ginger, nutmeg, and a little clove. Not a lot of herbs with this one, just kind of an underlying alfalfa note which brings a welcome earthiness. Just when you’re thinking “is this going to just taste like a high rye bourbon?”, in comes a really long finish of orange peel, oak, and a blast of black peppery rye spice that definitively answers that question. A delicious hint of flan when the pepper fades. The mix between sweet and spice is nearly perfect. Mouthfeel is silky and creamy. I really enjoyed this, primarily for the balanced profile as it is neither a sugary 51% barely rye or a herbaceous mint bomb, but right in between. I picked this up on clearance for $52, and at that price it would literally be a staple in my cabinet. When not on clearance we are looking at $74 and there I feel a strong “meh” on the rebuy prospects. To be fair, my rating will reflect the price I paid. Oh and for those who are wondering how it compares on an A/B test with Rare Breed rye, I got you. As expected, the flavor profiles are very similar. Rare Breed loses the creamy mouthfeel, as it’s much grainier. Russell’s is more balanced and integrated, while RB is spicer and punchier. Which I prefer would probably depend on my mood. Do I want the smooth ride of a Ferris Wheel or the thrill of the Tilt-A-Whirl? I do see myself buying the Rare Breed more often to get this profile as for some reason Rare Breed goes for about $55 in my area, making the price for RR just...dumb.

This is my first ever rye - at least since I've been paying attention enough to rate something. It's different that anything I've had before. Assuming this rye is like others, I finally get why the bottle is green. There is so much pine and spearmint in this rye that it is incredible. And this is only a barely legal rye from what I understand. The nose is subdued, fresh and clean. It is almost exclusively spearmint and pine as previously noted. The palate is similar at first, but if you let it sit in your mouth, it just builds and builds. All of a sudden, in addition to the spearmint and pine, you start to get white sugar. Then spice. Then strong pepper. And it just goes on and on, tingly and wonderful. After it's all said and done I can get mint tea. This is unlike anything I've tasted before, but again I have hardly had any ryes. But I love this because it is so different than the scotches and bourbons I've tried, and it's even different from what I thought rye was - super spicy. I mean, there is spice, but the green notes and the gentle nature of this just take me by surprise. Maybe others with more experience with rye won't be as shocked as I am, but it really is unique to me - at least until I get my hands on a Pikesville which I hear is as good or better than this. Wonderful stuff, recommended.

Total Score : 3.75 [Eng] [Nose] - It has some alchol booze. - Refreshing and spicy scent like manicure and pineapple(little bit artificial). - When the sweet and spicy scent passes, you can feel the bourbon and oak scent behind it, and the pale vanilla passes by. [Pallete] - Bright and thrilling spicy without stickiness. - Sweetness - Little bit of bitterness [Finish] - Rye’'s unique scent, grain scent, and sweet taste remain. - It has a warm residual feeling, but spiciness doesn't last long in your throat. + As the glass becomes empty, the vanilla scent rises and the overall softens, smelling the bitter, dried traditional herbal scent. [Kor] [Nose] - 부즈 좀 있음 - 매니큐어, 파인애플 같은 상큼하고 매콤한 향이 있음 - 달콤하고 매콤한 향이 지나가면 그 뒤로 버번과 오크향이 느껴지고 옅은 바닐라가 스쳐 지나감 [Pallete] - 끈적하지 않은 화사하고 짜릿한 매콤함 - 달콤함 - 약간의 쓴맛 [Finish] - 라이 특유의 향긋함과 곡물향, 달큰한 맛이 남음 - 뜨끈한 잔여감은 있지만 목이 따가운건 오래 가지 않음 + 잔이 비어갈수록 바닐라 향이 진해지고 전반적으로 부드러워짐. 또 말린 도라지 같은 약초를 말린 향이 남.

Yep. Another entry in our rye tasting event. Strong vanilla nose on this one for me. Not sure that carries over to the palate, but I'm admittedly not the best at identifying individual flavors. What I did notice is the oily, viscous mouthfeel. This characteristic is high on my preference list. The finish is smooth and warming. This one's a keeper for me, looking forward to re-visiting it soon. 12/6/22 - Revisited this bottle this evening, with different results. Similar nose, but seemed thin compared to the oily viscosity I remembered. Still getting the rye flavor, but it 's accompanied by a sharp alcohol burn. Not smooth at all this time around. Hard to imagine it's changed that drastically; more inclined to think something was off with me! Still, I'm backing this off to a 3.5 for now, and will check in on it again to re-evaluate.