Week 21 of sample moutain is Russell’s Reserve week! Featuring a warehouse E pick(one of my favorite warehouses) and two picks that got a lot of social media attention down here in Texas. So let’s see ho this ‘random’ E sample stack up against the hype bottles. For my “would I buy this?” question this week I am comparing trying to get one of these picks vs just grabbing an arbitary Russell’s pick from a local big box store ie Total Wine.
J Squared Barrel #1
Warehouse: E
Floor: 4
Neat
Nose: Rich caramel, nuts, warm spices
Taste: Starts with more caramel and nuts(Cracker Jacks?) with spice and oak building toward the end. Great mouthfeel on par with what I’d expect from a Russell’s pick.
Finish: Long spicy finish.
Buy this bottle over a random big box Russell’s “pick”? Yes
PIE 314 ‘Raiders’
Warehouse: T
Floor: 6
Neat
Nose: Turkey funk, something sweet and fruity(jam? jelly?), warm spice and oak.
Taste: More classic Turkey with caramel, baking spice, funk and oak. Similar mouthfeel to the first one.
Finish: Medium length finish with a nice balance of caramel, oak and spice.
Buy this bottle over a random big box Russell’s “pick”? Yes
The OG’s The Green Jacket
Warehouse: F
Floor: 6
Neat
Nose: Subtler and oakier than the first two with rich oak, rye spice and fainter vanilla extract.
Taste: Rich oak, lightly salted caramel, vanilla, baking spice and more oak. Very nice mouthfeel, best of the bunch there.
Finish: Long with fading caramel and lingering spice.
Buy this bottle over a random big box Russell’s “pick”? Yes
Conclusion
The J2 pick was 🔥 and the only complaint I have was that the finish was a little one note and spicier than my preference. I really like the nutty notes that I am getting from some of these warehouse E picks. For me this was the winner but I can see some folks not wanting the Beam/Heaven Hill style notes cropping up in their Russell’s.
The PIE 314 pick had a really nice fruity note on the nose that reminded me of Four Roses. Otherwise it was a solid Russell’s pick and in line with what I want from Turkey.
The Green Jacket was good as well. It had a little bit of salinity which I usually don’t get from Turkey(I’m not sure it added much here though) and a really nice mouthfeel. The finish was long and well balanced. Is it the best Russell’s pick I’ve had? Definitely not. Was it about the mid point? Probably yes.
TL;DR: Warehouse E wins again for me but the Raider’s pick was a close second. The Green Jacket was solid too but I prefered the first two.
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