I’d like to thank Wild Turkey and their entire PR team for providing this with no strings attached.
Look at the top of this page. Right there under the logo, you’ll see a tagline that I feel sums up how I see this site: “The Irreverent Home of Frugal Bourbon Drinkers Since 2012.” Irreverent because I don’t take bourbon very seriously. When I started this site, that was a rarity in the online bourbon fandom, and I felt it needed to be called out. At the end of the day, it’s something tasty meant to make your life a little more enjoyable. Frugal because it’s only since about 2019 that I stopped living paycheck to paycheck—finally being able to keep a paycheck’s worth of money into savings on a semi-regular basis. I literally couldn’t afford to review things that cost a lot of money unless they came as samples.
See, it’s no exaggeration to say that my wife and I grew up in poverty. I’ve mentioned this before, but we both have memories of standing in line waiting for handouts of government cheese, fruits, and vegetables at the local VFW. I didn’t create a memory of living in a house without wheels until I was an adult in my first apartment after my first year of college (I’m not counting the dorms for this, though you could). That apartment was so poorly maintained that there were holes in the siding, and we slept on a used mattress and box spring that we found behind the local furniture store. Add in a young child—the result of a teenage pregnancy—and you might be surprised to see either of us taking on the debt to go to college. Luckily for both of us, the amount of debt needed in the ’90s was much less than what kids today have to take on, especially for poor kids who could also qualify for federal grants in addition to the more standard student loans. Still, I didn’t spend more than one year at the University of Minnesota before dropping out for financial reasons. It took four years of factory work to get back into school at the much less expensive local branch of the University of Wisconsin system.
I preface this review with this information not because I think we should get “attaboys” for us scraping and clawing our way to a place where we can relax a little (a place that I honestly would have called “rich” when I was a teenager), but because I know that someone is going to see that tagline and wonder just what the fuck I’m doing reviewing a $300 bottle of bourbon. And that’s a fine question. I’ve been asking myself the same thing since I saw the price of the bottle in the press release that came with the sample. The answer is simply that I didn’t see the price before I requested the sample. And being frugal means being good with your resources. I have the sample here. It would be wasteful not to review it. So with my hand-wringing out of the way, let’s move on to the actual whiskey, shall we?
Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse – Camp Nelson E is the fourth release in their Rickhouse Collection. Each release is pulled from one rickhouse to highlight the differences between them. According to the press release:
Award-winning Russell’s Reserve introduces Single Rickhouse 2025 – Camp Nelson E, the highly anticipated fourth addition to its acclaimed Single Rickhouse Collection. The Collection explores whiskey “terroir", and how the exact location of the rickhouse - an often-overlooked detail, influences the whiskey’s final character. Now available in select markets, the 2025 edition from Camp Nelson E explores an entirely different environmental profile than the past releases – one shaped by shade, airflow, and cooler, slower aging conditions.When it came to exploring this year’s release, Master Distiller Eddie Russell and his team turned to Camp Nelson E, an iconic, 1946-built rickhouse tucked deep among the trees on Camp Nelson’s property edge. Located closer to the Kentucky River than the other rickhouses on the Camp Nelson campus, Camp Nelson E runs North-South along the river, subjecting it to different wind patterns off the river and more consistent shading throughout the year. Its unique positioning, deeper-set on the property, and dirt-floor “basement” level creates one of the coolest microclimates on the grounds – a stark contrast to the sun-drenched heights of Camp Nelson B from last year’s release.
So let’s get to the notes, shall we?
Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse - Camp Nelson E, 2025
Purchase Info: This sample was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $300 for a 750 mL bottle.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $20.00
Details: 64% ABV. Non-chill filtered. Matured on Floor 5 of Rickhouse E.
Nose: Cinnamon, clove, toffee, fig, molasses, oak.
Mouth: Very spicy with notes of caramel, floral vanilla, cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, green apple, and oak.
Finish: Long and very warm. Lingering notes of cinnamon, green apple, and oak.
Thoughts: Right off the bat, this is a beautiful, deep, rich amber color. The nose is rich and complex. It’s hot in the mouth with a nice mouthfeel, and the flavors work together extremely well. The finish is long and satisfying. Overall, this is a fantastic whiskey—and if it were half the price, I’d be doing everything in my power to get a bottle. However, as mentioned above, BourbonGuy.com is the home of the frugal bourbon drinker. So we need to mention that $300 price tag here. Not only is that well outside what I’d consider paying for a bottle of bourbon, it’s also outside my ability to pay that much for a single bottle. And I’m guessing it’s out of many of yours as well. So even if I see this on a shelf, that’s where it’ll stay. I really like this bourbon, but I have a hard time recommending anyone spend that much money on a bottle of bourbon in this—or any—economy.
It’s things like this that make me wonder if, over the course of this site’s life, we’ve gone from bourbon being disrespected because it was too cheap to officially jumping the shark on pricing. Charging $200 to $300 MSRP for a bottle of bourbon is becoming a trend and is certainly a choice by the industry. This is the first sample I’ve gotten from Wild Turkey, and after this, I’m guessing it’ll be the last they offer. I’m still a Wild Turkey fanboy, but I doubt the PR folks will appreciate me spending over a thousand words questioning the industry’s pricing strategy using Wild Turkey as an example. I mean, people are already moving to other spirits, or away from alcohol altogether. I can’t imagine that pricing things like this will help the long-term outlook of the bourbon industry. But what do I know? I’m not an MBA. I’m just a poor kid who grew up scarred by, and never forgetting, where he started.
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