The weekend before last Hokus Pokus dropped its latest Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel pick, “Ghost Quarantine 2020.” I didn’t review it right then because I was all hot to try and write a review of Old Tub. I have reviewed a number of these Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel bottles, starting with this one. This whiskey is 110 proof, but that isn’t much watering down given that it is barreled at 115 proof. I am not a huge fan of regular Wild Turkey, but when their bourbon is non-chill filtered I am a huge fan.

This one is almost precisely 9 years old and comes from warehouse A, and I am told not too many single barrel store picks come from this warehouse.

The color is a very rich deep amber with some very slight reddish hues. On the swirl, beautiful thick oily film and legs. The nose is very caramel heavy, as is the case with a lot of Wild Turkey expressions, along with dark fruit and oak. On the palate, the main flavor is candied cherries and magnificent oak, with a rich mouthfeel. One thing to note is that, with this bourbon, it is super important to give this one small sips and really give it a good Kentucky chew. Because where this particular barrel really shines is on the finish. You get the candied cherries and oak along with a certain smokiness of English pipe tobacco. The finish really lingers on this one.

This is a delightful bottle of bourbon and really shows how you can get something special in a Russell’s Single Barrel store pick.