Russell's Reserve 2002 vs. Wild Turkey Master's Keep Revival Reviews

Two limited edition products from Wild Turkey released around the same time. One is an expensive 12-15 year old at 101 proof and finished in 20 year old Oloroso Sherry casks. The other is a super limited, super expensive, barrel proof, 16 year old. I love Wild Turkey and Eddie Russell is easily my favorite current master distiller in the industry so this should be fun.

Wild Turkey Master's Keep Revival

Aged 12 - 15 years; 50.5% ABV; Batch 0001; Bottle 38558; $150

Nose: Fruity, older bourbon. The sherry notes are pretty evident and add a nice grape jam layer on top of the sweet, spice, and oak. 

Taste: Lots of typical bourbon notes up front - honey and vanilla followed by familiar Wild Turkey baking spices and lots of fruit glaze. The tail ends off with a hefty dose of charred oak, light spice, and a lot of fruity jam. Again the sherry finish is very evident. Without the fruit notes it very much reminds me of the exported 12/101 that was still being sold overseas up until a few years ago.

Thoughts: I've loved this from the moment I opened it and that feeling remains. It has all the familiarity of a great Russell's Reserve Single Barrel or 12/101 Wild Turkey with a nice dose of fruitiness mingled throughout. This is easily my favorite release in the Master's Keep line and the first one I've ever liked enough to buy a second. If I had any criticism it would be the finish is a touch char heavy / bitter.

Rating: B+

Russell's Reserve 2002

No Age Statement (Distilled 2002, Bottled 2018); 57.3% ABV; Bottle 3085/3640; $250

Nose: A lot more intensity than the Revival which is to be expected given the proof bump. It's not any hotter than it should be for 57% though. Smells like a ramped up older Russell's Reserve Single Barrel. 

Taste: Lots of sweet bourbon notes initially - honey, caramel, graham cracker. That slowly transitions to more wood and baking spice in the middle and lingers on through the finish. It is hefty on the wood and baking spices. I get faint hints of what nerds often refer to as dusty turkey notes. Tasted blind I might suspect this was a vintage Wild Turkey like the donut bottling.

Thoughts: As someone who loves Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, this is very good. There are no surprises here, it tastes exactly like what it should based on the specs. If there are any faults it might be that it is a touch heavy in the oak department on the finish and almost starts to trigger my bitterness flags.

Rating: B+ / A-

---

Overall Thoughts: I don't really want to pick a winner here as these are two totally different animals. I love the dark brooding fruit forward profile of the Revival as it's very unique. On the flip-side, the 2002 is a classic high proof old bourbon. Though the 2002 might be the slightly better of the two, I've had more things like the 2002 than the Revival so if you pressed me to pick a desert island pour, I'd ask for the Revival. As for the value, I certainly wouldn't recommend the 2002 at retail or anything beyond that. There are lots of bottles I'd rather have that were 1/5th the price so I'm glad I split this one with a buddy rather than going all in myself.

---

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Russell's Reserve Review

Launched in 2001, Russell's Reserve is named after Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell. While it originally entered the market at the same 101 proof of their flagship product, in 2005 it was lowered to 90 proof. I don't know for sure but I suspect that was due to problems maintaining higher proof aged stock given Wild Turkey's extremely low 107 barrel entry proof at the time. After recently covering the 13 year Wild Turkey Distiller's Reserve which I didn't love, I thought it would be interesting to see how a 10 year version with a similar proof stacks up.

Aged 10 years; 45% ABV; $35

Nose: Classic Wild Turkey rye baking spices, lots of oak, and sugary wood sweets (vanilla/caramel/etc). It has that bold modern Wild Turkey character and while it breaths a little warm you can tell it's not as amped up as the 101 product. Still pretty nice though.

Taste: Sadly, more muted than the nose. Honey and brown sugar sweets up front . Oak and spice take over in the finish along with some light dry cocoa powder. Tastes like what it should on paper - an older, watered down Wild Turkey 101. 

Thoughts: Like the 13 year Distiller's Reserve, the down proofing is really hampering this one. All of the hallmark modern Wild Turkey notes are there including those nice rye baking spices but it's just not very impactful. It lacks the bold punch of 101 and doesn't come close to the depth of the single barrel version but I actually like this better than the Distiller's Reserve. It's a decent sweet, spicy, woody combo that I'd put on par with a more expensive product like Blanton's and better than a harder to find product like Elmer T. Lee. At the price, that makes this a nice, solid, above average daily sipper.

Rating: C+ / B-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye Reviews

Over the years I've grown quite fond of Wild Turkey. A lot of that stems from a love of their vintage releases back before the turn of the century but they do have some current products that I enjoy as well. Wild Turkey 101 is my go to as a daily sipper and cocktail base of choice. And if you take Four Roses out of the equation, Russell's Reserve Single Barrel is my favorite readily available bourbon under $60. 

But as good as those two products are, Wild Turkey is on shaky ground with me when it comes to rye. Their 101 rye isn't nearly as good of a base product as the 101 bourbon. It's heavily slanted towards a young profile and not really a good value considering the 101 bourbon is more mature and cheaper. But in late 2015 Wild Turkey launched a new single barrel rye under their premium Russell's Reserve line. Though it's not age stated, the Russell's name implies it's a bit older plus it's bottled at a respectable 104 proof and is non chill filtered. 

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye

No Age Statement; 52% ABV; $67

The nose is a nice bouquet of rye flavors like baking spices, anise, and menthol. There's a very familiar modern Wild Turkey characteristic scent to it, kind of like corny cardboard that I taste in the 101 bourbon. From the nose I'd guess about 6-7 years old. The palate is similarly spicy, more so than I remember with the 101 rye. There is honey and other wood sweets up front but it's very heavy on the baking spices and other rye flavors. The corny cardboard note is toned down so it has some maturity, I'd guess maybe 7ish years old. I'm inclined to call this one a bit of a spice bomb, up there with MGP high rye whiskies but without those quirky dill notes.

Rating: B / B-

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye Liquor Barn Barrel #16

No Age Statement; 52% ABV; $70; Barrel #16, Rickhouse E, Floor 2, Selected by Liquor Barn Series #1

Pretty similar to the non store select bottle - baking spices, menthol, rye bread. The young corny cardboard notes are more muted though so there is less modern Wild Turkey familiarity to it. Overall it smells like a rye spice blast. The taste is very similar to the other barrel with the rye spice notes being very prominent but there is also more traditional wood sweetness up front and in the finish. I feel like this is the more mature of the two and I'd guess it clocks in at around 7-8 years old. I'd give the slight edge to this barrel because it offers more balance in terms of sweet and spice but that's really splitting hairs.

Rating: B

---

These were a welcome improvement over 101 rye and show that Wild Turkey can make a good rye whiskey. Though there were minor differences between the two, the core profile is still very similar - a modestly aged, nicely proofed, spicy whiskey. At $60+ they aren't the best value but that's pretty close in price to other rye whiskeys I'd rate similarly in enjoyment like Michter's Barrel Strength Rye and Pikesville Rye. 

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit vs. Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Review

Ask any whiskey fan who has tasted bourbon from the 80s or 90s and they will tell you Wild Turkey has fallen pretty far what they once were. While the flagship 101 product available today is a still a decent buy, it’s much less refined and tastes a lot younger than the age stated version from years ago. The bigger travesty is how far Rare Breed has gone down the toilet as each batch since the 99 version has gotten progressively worse - so much so that I’ll probably never buy another bottle again. Then there are the legendary bottles from the glut era like the 12 year “Cheesy Gold Foil” or Kentucky Legend “Donut Bottle” that are amazingly good. Those releases run circles around the kind of mundane offerings we’ve seen lately from Wild Turkey like Diamond that I am sure can still be found stinking up shelves 3 years after its release if you look hard enough.

So, are there any great Wild Turkey products left that aren’t limited editions with an ultra premium price tag? Today we give their two top of the line single barrels offerings a shot to find out.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit

No age statement; Barrel #2733, Bottled on 12/3/15, Warehouse O, Rick 2; 50.5% ABV; $50

Nose: Sweet and spicy. Salted caramel, baking spices, light menthol. Smells about like a ~7 year old bourbon.

Taste: Echoes the nose - it’s both sweet and spice forward. It has a decent amount of wood depth but it’s still got hints of some green woody youth. The finish tapers off with spicy smoky char that is a little hotter than it should be given the 101 proof. I’m guessing this is about 7-8 years old.

Thoughts: I’ve been through three different bottles of this that ranged from great to forgettable with this one being somewhere between those two. Granted, it is a single barrel and two of those bottles were store selections so take that for whatever it’s worth. To me, this is an extra aged version of the 101 product at nearly twice the price. It’s got the similar profile of 101 as it’s sweet and spicy with a nice full mouthfeel but doesn’t offer a lot of balance outside of that. It’s probably very similar to the same product offered ~20 years ago as 101 with an 8 year age statement.

Rating: B-

Value: I don’t factor price into my ratings. At $50, these can be a bit of a gamble. If you have access to a store with a private selection and an open bottle for you to try before you buy, give it a shot as you might land a real winner. If not, I’d recommend more consistent single barrels such as Four Roses private selections or Smooth Ambler over this.

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel

No age statement; 55% ABV; $55

Nose: Vanilla, dark chocolate, and burnt caramel. Lots of mature wood and only small hints of spice. Richer, deeper, and more mature than the Kentucky Spirit. Smells like a ~11 year old bourbon.

Taste: Lush, thick mouthfeel. A touch more woody than sweet but a nice balance of the two. Like the nose, the sweets are darker and the wood is deeper than the Kentucky Spirit. It certainly doesn’t taste young and there are even hints of older funky wood in there that make it really interesting. The classic Wild Turkey spice is there in the finish but is toned down and smoothed out by wood notes.

Thoughts: Easily the best Wild Turkey product you can go buy off the shelf today. I’ve been through a few bottles of this and find it to be much more consistent than the Kentucky Spirit. I really like the wood depth here and how it smooths out that bold spice profile the younger Wild Turkey products are known for. It’s able to do that while keeping a good amount of sweetness and not becoming overly bitter like some of the extra aged Turkey products I’ve had.

Rating: B+

Value: Again, I don’t factor price into my ratings. At $55 in today’s market, I feel this bottle is good buy. I’d still give a nod to Four Roses private selections or Booker’s over this but it’s a nice change of pace if you are in the mood for something different.