Up next in 10
Today I'm reviewing Wild Turkey's Russell's Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon which I won in this year's whiskey lottery. I'm also sharing the news of the upcoming 17 Year Old bourbon releases coming from Heaven Hill along with the new cognac finished Batch 18 Bourbon from Four Gate. There are some new video games coming out this month as well, including Gran Turismo 7, WWE 2K22, Grand Theft Auto 5 for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and more!
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites Podcast, I'm reviewing Russell's Reserve 13-Year-Old Bourbon and talking about the new whiskeys and video games coming out this month
0:18
Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bites Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and I literally just hopped off the plane at LAX because I am back from my
0:27
five night trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. One of my favorite cities to travel to. We had a
0:33
wonderful trip. The weather was absolutely perfect until like the last like couple of days because
0:38
it was kind of cloudy in the mornings. But other than that, warm, you know, 80 degree temperature
0:42
sitting by the pool, drinking margaritas and Mai Tais, living it up. So thank y'all for not
0:48
forgetting about me while I was gone. I tried to make sure I timed it where I would still be able
0:52
to put out a podcast and a live stream after I got back. So I don't really have too much planned
0:59
for this episode. I wanted to do a bit of research before I got back, but it was just such a crazy
1:05
trip. I didn't really keep up with all the whiskey news and all the gaming news, but I thought this
1:10
would be a fun opportunity to talk about maybe some new releases that I know for sure are coming
1:14
out this month in both whiskey and video games, as well as review my lottery bottle that I won
1:21
from K&L Wine and Spirits, my local whiskey store here in Hollywood area. And that is Russell's
1:27
Reserve 13-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. So let's go and get that cork popped
1:31
for the first time. Okay, I expected a little more. Oh, it already smells good just popping
1:37
the cork. Let's go and get it poured. A little bit of a bigger pour than normal because I was
1:44
debating whether I was going to, you know, do a dry week to recover from my excessive drinking
1:48
from this vacation, but I literally have so much to do. I have my stream on Thursday. Matt Madness
1:54
the rematch, is going to be this Friday, so if you listen to this episode, it's going to be later today. And come this Monday, I'm actually launching a brand new YouTube channel with some people you
2:03
may know. So myself, along with Bill, the Whiskey Dick, Jason from the Mashin' Drum, Ed from the
2:08
RockGutReview and our new friend Molly. We're coming together to launch Dungeons & Drams
2:15
So this is a WhiskeyTube take on Dungeons & Dragons. We've been preparing for this for a long
2:21
long time. I was actually new to Dungeons & Dragons before this. I knew a lot of people
2:25
that had played and I'd always really wanted to do it, but none of my good friends really played
2:29
growing up. So I'm so excited to be a part of this. I'm going to probably be really bad at it
2:34
to start with, so you guys will have to bear with me, but I'm so, so excited for my character. So
2:38
just look up dungeons and drams on youtube the page should be live now um and go ahead and
2:42
subscribe we go live this monday uh so look forward to that but before that i wanted to
2:48
celebrate uh the end of a great vacation and the start of a great weekend of whiskey tube
2:53
with a nosing of wrestle's reserve 13 oh man that's it i knew i wanted to have this as soon
3:01
as i tried it so when i did it blind um on a twitch stream i literally thought this was a
3:06
vintage whiskey. It smells very similar to some of the vintage Jim Beam or actually Wild Turkey
3:12
that I have from the 70s and 80s. And I think that's what I guessed it was. I don't remember
3:16
It was mid like a gaming stream, but I didn't guess Wild Turkey. I definitely didn't get that
3:21
but I definitely said that this smells old. This has that characteristic. I don't know what it is
3:26
exactly about vintage whiskey that has such a unique nose. A lot of people say, you know
3:31
it's because they didn't clean the pipes and you're getting a lot more of that like leftover flavor I don know for sure but I do think that vintage whiskey has a very unique taste and surprisingly this 13 Russell Reserve has it so that right on the nose is just it smells really good And I know I going to like it just based on the nose By the way I did just pay MSRP on this So Although I know it goes
3:52
a lot crazier on secondary, but the good thing about the K&L lottery is they do not inflate the
3:57
prices of these bottles. You're getting them at MSRP. So I was very, very happy to pay $70
4:01
for this bourbon. Also, I forgot to mention, but this is actually barrel proof. So it's 114.8 proof
4:07
It is non-chill filtered. That's actually one of the highest proof wild turkey I've had other than some rare breed
4:13
I think the one I have right now is 112, but I think another batch of it was at 116
4:18
And the only master's keep I actually have are 100 proof or below. So I'm really interested to see how this really shines at barrel proof and 13 years old
4:26
Let's go ahead and try it. Cheers. There's my classic turkey. Not to jinx myself, but I imagine if I'm playing Madness and he asks what distillery this is
4:35
I would guess wild turkey. It's a very classic wild turkey note. Those baking spices really do show up on the palate
4:41
I wasn't getting them as much on the nose, but there's a certain like spiciness that comes with wild turkey that I always get excited about
4:47
But this time it's even more intense. The full experience of this at barrel proof is just so, so phenomenal
4:54
And that 13 year age statement just makes it really come alive. The other than the master's keep, this is the oldest turkey I've tried
5:01
And when you're pairing that with barrel strength, I mean, this is just an exceptional
5:05
expression of wild turkey. If you are a fan of anything wild turkey, you will absolutely adore
5:10
this bottle if you can get it for $70, maybe a little bit more. Honestly, this has LE written all
5:16
over it in terms of taste. It has the luxurious mouthfeel that I always associate with the
5:20
limited edition bourbon. I feel like if I'm not still lingering it and tasting on it, you know
5:24
several minutes after I had my last sip, it doesn't taste special to me. This is still lingering
5:29
as I go in for my second sip. On second sip, I'm going back to the fruitiness. Now, to me
5:34
I was getting red fruit on the nose of this, but to me, this is a bit citrusy
5:38
It's almost like a, do you want to say old fashioned? Yeah
5:43
It's almost like an old fashioned in the glass, you know, even with the orange, like the expressed orange peel on it
5:47
Maybe like if you burn the orange peel a little bit, like with the lighter and then you express
5:51
it, I think all of those really bright citrus notes are there. I mean, this tastes like a really strong old fashioned, like you may have forgotten the
5:57
sugar cube, but you, you put the bitters and you put the, the high proof whiskey and you
6:02
express that orange on it. That's the total experience I'm getting with this, and I absolutely love it
6:07
Now, next time I visit this, it may be for a YouTube stream or maybe even a Twitch gaming stream
6:11
I would love to put this on the rocks. I think this on a big, solid ice cube would taste phenomenal and really cocktail-like
6:20
I really don't feel the burn with this. It's 114.8 proof, but it's so balanced and so mellow, and it travels slowly across your palate that you're not hit up front with that high proof
6:30
If anything, I guess it expresses itself more on the finish. You can feel the Kentucky burn in your throat, but it's a very, very delightful, delicious pour
6:39
I mean, if you get your chance to try this, please, please do. It's worth every penny at retail
6:46
Also, if you see it in a bar, definitely, you know, I think it's worth splurging on for sure
6:50
So for me, Russell's Reserve 13-year-old bourbon is an absolute winner. I can't wait to sip on it over the next year or so
6:57
With ones like these, I definitely don't want to finish them anytime soon. And I can't wait to share it with friends
7:02
This is going to be a fun one. So thank you, K&L, for not sponsoring this video, but for allowing me to get this in their lottery
7:09
I'm so, so excited. So I'm going to keep stepping on this, but let's get into some news
7:14
So even though I was away from Keyboard on my vacation I still was getting the email alerts from all the press releases from the major distilleries And there a lot of new things coming out soon First of which comes to us from none other than Heaven Hill with their new ultra premium line
7:32
called the Heritage Collection. So you may be familiar with their Parker's Heritage line
7:38
which is what they consider their more experimental line. They have some crazy, heavily toasted finishes, as well as some Curacao-finished bourbon. This, on the other
7:46
hand is going to be an ultra premium ultra aged product so this first release is going to be a
7:51
17 year old barrel proof bourbon um which you know my ears hurt up as soon as i heard you know
7:58
17 year barrel proof heaven hill like what so this is the first edition um it's planned to be i don't
8:04
know if it's going to be a yearly release i would assume so kind of like parker's heritage but this
8:07
one features their standard mashville the same one that's used in elijah craig barrel proof
8:11
and it comes in at 118.2 proof. So while this carries an age statement of 17 years
8:18
28% of it is made of 20-year-old bourbon, 44% of it is 19-year-old bourbon
8:23
and 28% of it is that 17-year-old bourbon. So really, even though it's labeled as 17 years
8:29
there's a lot older stock in these bottles. So as quickly as I became excited for this
8:34
just as quick did my hopes drop when I realized that this is going to be a $275 bottle
8:40
Not only that, but it's going to be extremely limited. I imagine it's probably going to only be released at the distillery
8:45
There's no information in terms of the actual release date yet. We just know it's coming out later this spring
8:51
But the cool thing is it does come in a really nice box. I mean, the presentation is definitely there. Similar to the premium Heaven Hill products we've seen in the past
8:57
like the 27-year-old Barrel Proof, which is a lot more money. But honestly, you know, $2.75, I would be really tempted
9:04
if this popped up at K&L, let's say, for $2.75, I probably would buy it. I'm not going to lie. Okay
9:11
listen, y'all know Elijah Craig Barrel Proof is my favorite bourbon just in terms of price
9:16
I was going to say availability, but it's kind of dwindled this past year, unfortunately. But that
9:21
one at Reno, $75 to $85 at 12 years old barrel proof, it's an absolute must-buy. So this one is
9:27
you know, $200 more, but it is a very, very special release. I definitely think, you know what
9:33
if I had the opportunity to buy it at least once, I would do it. Heaven Hill did not send me a sample
9:38
of this. I know a few other channels that got samples, so stay tuned to their reviews. Either
9:43
way, I'm very excited to see a limited release, a new limited release coming from Heaven Hill
9:47
because I love them so much as a distillery. While we're on the topic, literally within the
9:51
same week, or I guess the next week, they announced the 2022 edition of Old Fitzgerald
9:56
Bottled and Bond. And wait till you hear this, this is also a 17-year-old bourbon. So if you're
10:02
not familiar with old Fitzgerald, that is their weeded bourbon. This was distilled in 2004 and
10:08
bottled in spring of 2022. And the MSRP on this is $185, which it's kind of interesting to compare
10:14
that to the 17-year-old barrel proof that I just talked about. I mean, this one is, you know
10:20
like I said, the weeded mash bill, it is bottled and bond. I mean, it's very strict guidelines
10:24
And for them to have that for 17 years, maintaining those, I kind of expected this to be a higher
10:28
price. So again, if I had the opportunity to buy this at $185, you know I would. I mean
10:34
especially because I bought the 17-year Bottle & Bond Wild Turkey, I would love to do a side-by-side
10:39
comparison with, you know, a distillery like Heaven Hill that's my favorite and a distillery
10:43
like Wild Turkey that is kind of hit or miss for me. I've had some really great releases like this
10:47
Russell's 13, but it would be really interesting to do that comparison. And finally, one more bourbon
10:53
release that I just got the info on, and that's Fourgate's new batch 18 bourbon
10:59
So this batch is called St Charent It is a seven Kentucky straight bourbon finished in cognac casks So I recently had Bill Straub from Fourgate on my channel over on YouTube We did a live stream tasting through their Bluegrass Trilogy which
11:15
were three different finished bourbons. They were all fantastic, and this is going to be probably
11:21
no doubt, a hitter from them. Speaking of which, this will come in at $199. It's going to be
11:26
available in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas. But you can also
11:32
buy bottles online at places like Sealbox, Bourbon Outfitter, and Kaskers.com. And lastly, I want to
11:38
talk about some new video games and remastered video games that are coming out this month. Now
11:43
some of these are already out, including the new edition of Gran Turismo, Gran Turismo 7. I
11:49
actually haven't played much of these, but I know people are huge fans of the series. This came out
11:54
on March 4th for both PS4 and PS5. They're going to be over 420 cards to play with and over 90
12:00
tracks including famous ones from earlier games so if you missed my news a couple weeks ago
12:05
Mario Kart was actually coming out with a new an updated version of Mario Kart 8 that included maps
12:10
from pretty much all the previous Mario Kart games that's coming out later this year I think on
12:14
Switch actually might already be out I need to follow up about that because I definitely want
12:18
to buy that when that comes out but yeah I'm more of a fan of those type of games but I know people
12:22
love the racing games so you like what you like also coming out on the same day that this podcast
12:26
is being released, WWE 2K22 is going to be out on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, NS, and PC
12:36
So cross-platform here. And of course, you know I'm going to mention the GTA V remaster coming out
12:42
on next-gen consoles. This is coming out on March 15th. This is set to be one of the biggest game
12:48
releases of the year. They are totally remastering. I mean, these games came out in 2013 on PS3 and
12:54
Xbox 360. We are now on our third generation of Grand Theft Auto 5 and you know what? I couldn't
12:59
be happier. I've had it on PC for a while. That's, you know, my platform of choice. But I love to see
13:04
that they are continuing to support this game, continuing to remaster it and update it and add
13:09
content for old and new gamers alike. So I probably won't pick that up because obviously I already
13:13
have it on PC. But I will definitely be watching some graphics comparisons. Those are always really
13:17
fun to see, you know, comparing the PC version to the, you know, PS3 to the PS4 to now the PS5
13:22
version that should be really fun to watch also another one of the most anticipated games there
13:27
is a game called tunic coming to xbox as well as pc this is a indie action adventure game and the
13:35
main character is this adorable little fox honestly i love if you have a cute protagonist to your game
13:40
i'm absolutely going to play it but this seems like a really fun action adventure kind of puzzle
13:45
game you know kind of like legend of zelda-esque just based on what i'm seeing on it here so far
13:50
but it looks absolutely beautiful so definitely keep an eye on that one
13:54
It definitely would be one I would stream if I pick it up. And just so you're aware, a couple of other new games
13:58
coming this month include Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin coming March 18th, A Memoir Blue
14:04
coming March 24th, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands coming March 25th and Weird West coming 31st of March
14:10
So very cool indie games coming out as well as some big names. Let me know on our Discord server
14:16
which ones you will be picking up. Which if you're not yet a member of, you can go to BourbonBites.com and scroll to the Discord link down at the bottom of that link tree
14:24
It's where we have all of our fun hangouts for Patreon, as well as some naughty Bourbon
14:28
Bits 18 plus content. But with that, this has been Bourbon Bites Whiskey Reviews with a gaming twist
14:34
Cheers, and I'll talk to you next episode
#Food & Drink
#food