Bourbon, Charity, and Go-go Dancers

The poster pretty much says it all, but let me break it down for you. The Trestle Inn -- which I'm pretty sure you have no idea how much I'm stoked about...but I am -- is sponsoring a bourbon cocktail competition among bartenders from four of the best whiskey bars in the city: Time, Lloyd, The Industry, and themselves. The competition is sponsored by Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. It's a benefit for PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. It's a $20 ticket ($25 at the door), and $10 of that goes directly to PAWS, and gets you four tastings of the cocktails. Get your tickets here, and go have some fun! (I'd join you, but I have a rehearsal that night...sigh.)

Russell's Reserve Small Batch Single Barrel Bourbon

Okay, I had more than one...

We first got a taste of this last year at WhiskyFest San Francisco. A very excited Robin Coupar strode up with a sample bottle, and told me that this was a first: a single barrel from Wild Turkey, selected by Jimmy and Eddie Russell. It was Wild Turkey all the way through: full and rich, with full-throated oaky sweetness, but sparked by youthful mint and cinnamon, and a wonderful spread through the mouth; reminiscent of Rare Breed, but a fuller drink. He promised he'd get me more.

And so he did, and I got too busy to do a proper tasting of it. My apologies, to Robin and to you, because this does deserve your attention. First, it's worth noting that although it's 110° proof/55% ABV, it is easy to drink without water. I'm having it as my first whiskey of the day; I usually need to warm up my mouth a bit to take on a 55% without water. Nicely done.

A few more things: there's no age statement, no "X Years Old," and no real suggestion on that. It's non-chill filtered (whiskeys are often chilled, which causes some proteins to precipitate in a haze, and then filtered; this keeps the whiskey from getting (unappealingly) hazy if it gets cold in shipment or storage, but some of us like the whole thing, protein and all), which is appealing to the whiskey geek in me, and unusual in an American whiskey. Suggested retail is about $50. And it is in the Russell's Reserve line, and we're assured that Jimmy and Eddie are both doing the selection...so you've got continuity. I do not know why it's both "small batch" and "single barrel;" I would think that single barrel would imply small batch! Belts, suspenders, whatever; Jimmy's got a sense of humor!

It is tasty, in a way that is rare in such a big-hammer proofing. The mint is hot, but the sweetness and the the citrus/orange notes smooth it right out. Right nice indeed; well-done!