This Might Be the Best Russell's Reserve Bourbon Wild Turkey Has Ever Made
As Wild Turkey's top of the line brand, limited release Russell's Reserve whiskey has made a name for itself. The latest edition to the distillery’s lineup of excellent, hard-to-find whiskeys is the Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson F.
The Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse Collection, which launched in 2022 with Camp Nelson C, focuses on the often-debated concept of terroir by exploring whether where a barrel rests impacts a whiskey's final character. As you might've guessed, each bottling features whiskey made from stocks drawn exclusively from an individual rickhouse.
To find the second edition in the Single Rickhouse series, Wild Turkey master distiller Eddie Russell tasted aged stocks from across the distillery campus until he came across Camp Nelson F and declared it “one of the best whiskeys we've ever made."
Built in the 1940s, Camp Nelson Rickhouse F overlooks the Kentucky River, sitting lower than the other warehouses on campus. According to the brand, this allows the barrels to “breathe” better, as airflow and wind currents coming off the river benefit the barrels aging inside, and have made the rickhouse a long-time favorite for the distillery's private barrel selection program.
"We knew we had big shoes to fill with our second Single Rickhouse release after our first bottling from Camp Nelson C," says Russell. "I didn't expect we'd release two Camp Nelson whiskeys back-to-back, but after just one sip from those Camp Nelson F barrels, I knew we had to bring this whiskey to our fans. It's too special not to share."
Bottled at 117.6 proof, the bourbon has aged for over 10 years and offers aromas of oak, vanilla, and cinnamon, followed by notes of cherry, raisins, and dates. The palate delivers flavors of clove and white pepper, leading to caramel, orange peel and dark fruits. The long finish is filled with honey and baking spice that give way to tobacco and mature oak.
Russell's Reserve's Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson F features and is meant to retail at $300 per 750ml bottle.