Background

Much like Eminem with Dre, it’s time for the Batman to my Robin to return for another joint review. Jonathan Glover is back (back again) and this time we’re tackling last weekend’s Jack Rose Wild Turkey tasting. Same deal as last time, we are going to get right into the notes since it’s double trouble on each pour. Gobble, gobble!
 

Wild Turkey Longbranch (NAS, 86 Proof)

Jonathan

Nose: Let me preface this exercise with two asterisks in these, my nosing notes for Matthew McConaughey Presents Wild Turkey Longbranch. a) I was sick. I found this out about an hour into my two-hour long drive into DC. So, God knows. I did my best. Good thing Frunk is here with his superpalate. And b) I had never had Longbranch nor did I really know anything about it. With that in mind, I immediately asked Frunk, “Is this charcoal filtered?” Which made me feel dumb as it’s apparently the defining characteristic of the bottle. It smelled like mesquite charcoal. I like that it smelled this way.

Palate: A crazy-thin mouthfeel, overwhelmingly caramelly with a whiff of rye spice.

Finish: I liked the finish. Hit way above its 86 proof weight. Lingering rye spice with accompanying clove, candied orange peel and a little splash o’ oak.

Sub-par (4/10)

Overall: You know what… ? I came in expecting the worst and what I got was an absolutely fine alternative to JD Black Label. The price is a little hard to swallow given the alternative, but the liquid itself is alright, alright, alright.

Frank

Nose: Candy corn, sweet cream, hints of natural cherry. Delicate and sweet, but also a little tame.

Palate: Sweet cream, vanilla and caramel swirl, orange extract. Again, sweet and light on the palate, but not leaving an overwhelming impression.

Finish: Candied orange, gentle oak, hints of cinnamon.

Sub-par to Good (4.5/10)

Overall: Not going to spend a ton of time on Longbranch, since I already reviewed it during our Celebrity Whiskey Bracket back in March. While I caught slightly different notes this time, my general impression remains the same. It’s OK.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit 2022 (NAS, 101 Proof)

Frank

Nose: Cowtail candies, toffee, just getting a dark sugary bomb on the nose. It smells chewy, which I know makes no sense, but it does.

Palate: Nougat, natural cherry, our other tasting accomplice said cherry skin, which I'll gladly steal. It’s a delicate hint of cherry. Chewy caramel candies.

Finish: Orange zest, creme brulee, brown sugar and hints of oaks.

Good (5/10)

Overall: Pretty straight down the middle and sugar forward - it’s good. Though I'm going to levy a slightly derogatory term at it… SMOOTH. In this context, I mean that as devoid of too much that will challenge you.

Jonathan

Nose: Got just a little bit of Turkey funk, Luxardos and oak.

Palate: More syrupy cherry and Caramel Creams. It’s wild how different these single barrels hit. I’m currently polishing off an “A” bottle at home and it’s one of my favorite Kentucky Spirits.

Finish: Present. The finish I enjoyed in the Longbranch now feels hot. Someone in our group (not naming names… ) called this “smooth,” and that’s probably entirely accurate. A tasty easy drinker.

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: I really like this bottle and, again, it’s remarkable how consistent the barrels are throughout their stated rickhouses and the Willett-esque inconsistency you’ll find from rickhouse-to-rickhouse. They all have that aforementioned Turkey funk yet their own terroir. It’s not a phenomenal bottle, but to me it’s about as good as Kentucky Spirit gets.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed (NAS, 116.8 Proof)

Jonathan

Nose: Feels way flatter than the previous pour but with some nice citrus and clove.

Palate: Less oily than I’m used to from Rare Breed and I have to wonder if my palate is letting me down or I just really like that Kentucky Spirit bottle. Otherwise, Snickers and a bit of apple-cinnamon. The latter most likely because someone won’t stop talking about apples.

Finish: A relatively tannic Russell’s worth of oak.

Good (5/10)

Overall: I like this. Rare Breed is good, and this is Rare Breed. It’s dark and chewy without being as La Brean as Russell’s can get. With that in mind: Russell’s SiB all day long, and I actually really preferred the previous pour.

Frank

Nose: Spiced, dried, oranges. Mulling spices, hints of vanilla, a fair bit of citrus throughout makes this nose stick out like a sore thumb vs the first two.

Palate: Ok I was originally getting orange zest, and then all of the sudden this wild apple cider note hopped out on the back half of the palate. Hints of tart berries.

Finish: Some of that apple cider comes through on the finish, leather and tobacco, slightly drying.

Good to Very Good (5.5/10)

Overall: I know Rare Breed is a consistent fan favorite… but my rub with it is that I have time and time again preferred the richer character of the Russell’s Reserve Single Barrels, not even picks necessarily, I even love the off the shelf ones.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit - Jack Rose “The Wildcard” (X, 101 Proof)

Frank

Nose: Caramel apples, hints of lemon tea and lemonhead candies. It’s an interesting blend of candied notes from both the brown sugar side of the spectrum and then more candied fruits.

Palate: Toffee pudding, wildflower honey, lemon peel. Again a fun dichotomy of citrus, floral notes, and then an undercurrent of dark sugar.

Finish: Clove and citrus, some lingering herbal/floral notes and hints of honey.

Very Good to Great (6.5/10)

Overall: Fun story on this one: the Jack Rose team tasted this as a possible Russell’s pick, and loved it. But the proof at that point in time was under 110, and Wild Turkey won’t bottle a Russell’s pick at sub-110 proof. The only way Jack Rose could get this out the door was to have Wild Turkey proof it down to 101 and take it as a Kentucky Spirit pick, hence the name “The Wildcard” - they had no clue what it would taste like at 101 proof. Safe to say it has a massive uptick in complexity in comparison with the standard.

Jonathan

Nose: Now this is different. A lot of black tea and brown sugar.

Palate: Dark burnt sugar, lemon zest and a light herbaceousness, the latter notes lifting this darkly-lit thing into crushable territory.

Finish: Lightly lingering Tate’s cookies and wildflower honey butter.

Great (7/10)

Overall: I loved this. So, so different from the other Kentucky Spirit offerings I’ve had; probably because it started life as a Russell’s barrel. Interestingly, I remember Bill Thomas basically implying that this barrel was off the table entirely given its proof, but apparently that wasn’t the case and they just changed the labeling. You can tell. While not my Pour of the Night, definitely the most surprising.

Russell’s Reserve Jack Rose 2023 Pick (9 Years, 110 Proof)

Jonathan

Nose: Tobacco, leather and brown sugar.

Palate: I know I’m leading with mouthfeel a lot but that’s because my palate is flagging as my nasal passages continue to close. But, anyway, it’s so dense, so chewy, you could imagine an extra in a John Ford film hawking it into a spittoon. A delicious spittoon. Mm. Yes.

Finish: Finishes for ages with peanut brittle, black pepper and cinnamon.

Great (7/10)

Overall: Wow is this the opposite of the previous pour. This feels like Russell's “Best of.” It’s just everything they want to highlight with the label. Dark, brawny, manly, Russell’s. Copywrite that shit.

Frank

Nose: Dark, crisp red apples (I know, I'm getting a lot of apples today), canned cranberry sauce brown sugar.

Palate: Whoa baby... RICH. Molasses, cherry cordial, leather and hints of maple syrup. The viscosity on this sip is incredible.

Finish: Cherry cough syrup, cinnamon sugar, black pepper and tobacco.

Great to Excellent (7.5/10)

Overall: I think Jack Rose picks have an exceptional hit rate, and I love Russell’s Reserve Single Barrels, and the marriage of those two factors is unsurprisingly a hit. The syrupy texture and dark sugars are just killer here.

Russell’s Reserve Cream of the Crop Pick (12 Years, 110 Proof)

Frank

Nose: Sticky toffee, charred orange peel, buttercream frosting. Honestly the citrus pops the most here.

Palate: Orange creamsicle, creme brulee, syrupy peaches. Much more fruit and citrus forward than the Jack Rose pick.

Finish: Peanut shells, wood varnish, maple syrup and a massive amount of citrus

Great (7/10)

Overall: This is nice, but also a lovely exercise in age not being everything. I honestly don’t fault anyone if they prefer this over the Jack Rose pick, but I think the richness of the Jack Rose iteration is the clincher for me.

Jonathan

Nose: Riiiiiiiiiiiich burnt caramel, charred citrus, toasted cherry syrup and kindling.

Palate: This is fruity despite how robust it is! Seriously, a lot of the aforementioned citrus and deep, rich flavors of the nose (dat cherry) survive unscathed onto the palate. It’s so unctuous without being quite as tacky, rich without being quite as severe as the previous SiB. It’s just about a perfect Russell’s palate. Maybe the best I’ve had outside of RR13… ?

Finish: Vanilla, maple syrup and oak. It’s lasting but so deliciously balanced.

Excellent (8/10)

Overall: This was exactly the medicine I needed. What a pick. Sitting at a good 12 years and, I believe, three or four months, this is a great advertisement for Russell’s 13. Age has made it so much rounder and more luxurious; the closest anything Turkey comes to being a dessert pour. Thanks to Frunk for letting me tag along despite my incessant whining that I was both “sick” and “going to get him sick.” It was a low-energy blast.