Pages

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Russell's Reserve Binny's Private Selection Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon

VITALS:
- $60
- 110 Proof
- 9 1/2 Years
- Barrel #22-0917; Warehouse B
- Kentucky

I've said it before, many times, but it's worth repeating.  When you find a Russell's Reserve pick on a shelf, grab it! They are just so consistently delicious!  Any time I'm traveling out of state and happen into a liquor store (yes, sometimes I just "happen" to go into one), I make it a point to see what store picks they might have available.  And, if I'm at a larger store where I have options, I then look for my go-to store picks, starting with Russell's Reserve single barrels.

While this wasn't one of those on-the-road finds, it was nonetheless an immediate purchase. On any given day Binny's will have dozens of available store picks to choose from. In fact, they have so many that it can at times result in paralysis by analysis, just trying to pick one to bring home. When they get them, the Russell's picks, however, are not going to be just "sitting there," at least not for long. So I was grateful to get my hands on this bottle. 

On the nose, I immediately got a rich and sweet combination of cinnamon, toffee and cherry notes. It was like some great combination of two of the better selections from an assorted chocolate tin!  The cherry took on kind of a Maraschino note which only added to the richness. I also got notes of wood, but not strong and lacking in any bitterness.

From first sip and throughout, the flavor consistently reminded me of cherry pie. It had the notes of rich, baked cherry, including that Maraschino note I got from the nose. There was certainly a baked goods quality to it as well, lending to the pie crust note that accompanied that cherry. There was even a rich, sweet syrup quality to it that seemingly rounded out that flavor. I couldn't get enough!

Behind that there was a certain cereal flavor to it as well. It mad me think of toasted Cheerios, which is a staple movie-watching snack in my household (and, therefore, may not be very relatable).  There was also a sort of dustiness, perhaps what others think of as the Wild Turkey funk. It's a funk that I've always loved, though, so to me it was welcome, even if only to counter some of the sweetness.

The finish provided some of that cinnamon spice that I was getting on the nose, but most prevalent was that baked cherry note that was consistent throughout. The pie crust note I was getting earlier took on a bit more of a graham cracker note, but it was still pretty delicious.

I have numerous bottles on my shelf that have been open for quite some time, years even. This, however, was not one of those bottles. This bottle lasted less than a week after opening it. I just couldn't help but keep going back to it.

Grade: A-

No comments:

Post a Comment