Lately I've been glowed up
One of the greatest things about picking at Wild Turkey is the “Say When” mentality that is barrel tasting with Eddie Russell. To get to the really special stuff, sometimes you gotta be able to taste through ten, even fifteen plus barrels before you find the one that speaks to you. So when COVID-19 knocked out most of my trips to Kentucky for the rest of the year it forced me to remain vigilant at securing a trove of samples bound for the West Coast. The barrels were sampled blind, then narrowed down to my top four and given one more blind pass. Each time the favorite was the same – Barrel #0622. My birthday was a week away on 06/22, and I took that as the sign.
I think this bourbon would appease both Jimmy & Eddie Russell’s stylistic preferences. The perfect balance between old versus new, almost a juxtaposition between a Russell’s Reserve and Kentucky Spirit profile. Not too chewy, not too light. Sweet and aromatic in the nose, savory and spicy on the palate – it floats like a butterfly, but stings like a bee.
At first, you’ll notice aromas of caramel, milk chocolate, and brown buttery sweetness, reminiscent of a Carmello candy bar. More time in the glass brings forth the floral and fruity aromas that start to form a bouquet of flavors greater than the sum of its parts. The palate arrives drier than you’d expect while coasting into a long mellow finish of tropical spices, like kola nut, allspice, and vanilla beans. Not too much of this or that – it’s jusssst right. Balanced, uncomplicated, and delicious. It’s bourbon, but better! And with a yield of only 144 bottles, it won’t last many rounds.
I’ve always drawn inspiration from what's happening in the world around, and when I began conceptualizing the sticker artwork for this Russell's Reserve barrel, I was at the beginning of a road trip and had just made my way into Utah.
For those of you who haven’t driven through the South Western United States, particularly in parts of Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, it really does feel like you’re on the verge of having a close encounter of some kind. I ran some ideas by the artist I had chosen, Scott Carl (who also happens to be responsible for your shipments coming from Maison Corbeaux). He dug the Close Encounters/Space Odyssey theme and got to work on some sketches.
And then, I was in Moab, Utah and it happened. Researchers saw a shimmer of light flashing in a red sandstone canyon while passing over in a helicopter. The Monolith, a triangular prism made of stainless steel and standing nearly ten feet tall bore an eerie resemblance to the one found in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. And so it became known as, The Monolith.
If you are so inclined to add a soundtrack to your imbibing experience, this song works well with The Monolith theme for a few reasons. The first of which is that Anderson .Paak is always the right choice. The beginning of the song has this weird little interstellar sounding frequency that makes you think of a UFO coming down to Earth and through a bright glowing ray of light you are beamed up to the mothership. The second part of the song has a completely different feel to it as if you’ve woken from the dreamlike encounter and come back to Earth. Listen on YouTube or wherever you stream music.
Spirit: Russell’s Reserve, 9yr | Warehouse E | Barrel #0622 | 55% abv
Title: The Monolith
Artwork by: Scott Carl
Musical Accompaniment: KAYTRANADA feat. Anderson .Paak. “Glowed Up.” 99.9%, XL Recordings, 2016.