Russell’s Reserve is the small-batch whiskey line produced at Kentucky’s Wild Turkey distillery—which, it should be noted, makes some truly fantastic bourbon and rye under its own name. The core lineup has some of the best values in American whiskey, but in recent years there have been some age statements and other expressions from Russell’s that have become instant unicorns and skyrocketed in price. The new Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse 2024 – Camp Nelson B is likely to join that elevated group for a few key reasons, and we got a first taste to help explain why.
There have been two previous Single Rickhouse releases, both of which came from barrels stored in warehouses at Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson grounds about 20 miles south of Lexington, a location that has become legend among whiskey nerds. The first release was 2022’s Camp Nelson C (the letter refers to the specific warehouse), and the second, Camp Nelson F, arrived in 2023 (rickhouse C has since been demolished, making that particular whiskey truly one-of-a-kind). The new bourbon is called Camp Nelson B, and while the two previous releases are similar in some regards, this is a completely different whiskey.
Rickhouse B was built in 1946 and is located in the middle of the Camp Nelson grounds. According to the brand, it’s exposed to more sunlight and is at a higher elevation than the other rickhouses on the site which contributed to the bourbon’s proof and palate. The barrels for this release all came from the sixth floor, which means they were subjected to quite a bit of heat. “The higher we went, the hotter it got, and the more oak we were getting on the whiskeys,” said master distiller Eddie Russell in a statement. “For Camp Nelson B, we wanted to make sure we were really showcasing the rich, dark honey and char notes that we tend to get from that rickhouse, and we had a feeling that the bourbon we were looking for was sitting up there, enjoying the sun.”
The whole point of the Single Rickhouse series is that the Wild Turkey team is trying to show that each individual rickhouse acts almost like terroir, and has a very specific effect on the whiskey based on its location, temperature, humidity, and air movement. Whether or not you buy into that, you can’t deny that each of these whiskeys are very different—and as mentioned before, Camp Nelson B deviates quite a bit from the previous two. The first thing that jumped out at me at a recent tasting was that Camp Nelson B is more similar to the core Wild Turkey 101 bourbon than any of the others. The distillery’s nutty, grainy, earthy (some say funky) character really shines through, especially compared to the previous releases which veered more towards a fruit-forward palate, along with notes of molasses, tobacco, red berries, and dark chocolate. At 120.2 proof, Camp Nelson B is the strongest whiskey ever released under the Russell’s Reserve name (it’s also the second highest proof whiskey released by Wild Turkey after Generations which was 120.8), but fortunately doesn’t creep anyway near hazmat levels.
As you can probably guess, Camp Nelson B is going to be difficult to find and expensive if and when you do. The official price tag is $300, but be prepared to shell out more than that on the secondary market, depending on where you live (Camp Nelson C is currently listed for more than $500 at Flaviar). If you’re looking for other Russell’s Reserve whiskeys, you can find most of them now at ReserveBar, including the fantastic 13 and 15-year-old expressions.
