Every month or so, a few friends and I gather for a whiskey tasting. For July, Tammy Tan (SpiceHound, Kitchen 519) and Anton Yulo (Meryenda) joined me in a West Coast Whiskey Club (WCWC) blind tasting of seven Russell’s Reserve whiskies. 

This represents most of their lineup, minus the Single Barrel Rye. Here’s what we poured:

• 10 year Bourbon (90 proof)
• K&L Exclusive Warehouse TY-K, Level 4 (110 proof)
• 13 year Bourbon (114.8 proof)
• 15 year Bourbon (117.2 proof)
• Single Rickhouse Bourbon Camp Nelson F (117.6 proof)
• WCWC Exclusive Camp Nelson E (110 proof)
• 6 year Rye (90 proof)

We tasted and discussed the pours together, then ranked them individually. While the three of us have similar, yet distinct preferences in our whiskies, throughout the tasting our preferences were clear and those differences didn’t really show up. Two bottles were early favorites, and another two were immediate dislikes. The battle, really, was for the middle of the pack.

As whiskey drinkers, we are trained that “older is better,” and our assumption was our two favorites were the 13- and 15-year bourbons, and our least favorites were the 6-year rye and 10-year bourbon.

We were half right.

We ended up ranking our top four whiskies in exactly the same order:

1. K&L Exclusive
2. WCWC Exclusive
3. Single Rickhouse
4. 13 year Bourbon

Our final three is where we diverged, slightly:

This differed from the overall WCWC rankings, which put the 13- and 15- year at the top, though we did align on the 10-year bourbon and 6-year rye being among our least favorites.

The 10-year is an approachable introduction for new bourbon drinkers; for cocktails which need the alcohol and flavor profile of bourbon, but won’t miss the nuance (say, a Kentucky Mule); or perhaps in baking.

The rye will appeal to those who enjoy its spicy profile (and, I think it would make for a killer Manhattan).

The 13- and 15-year, and Single Rickhouse bourbons are all limited releases, and retail for $150, $250, and $300, respectively—though you’d be hard pressed to find them for those prices; more likely double that. They would make great gifts for the bourbon lover who appreciates hard-to-get allocations.

The Exclusives, though, can be smoking good deals, usually $75–$100 a bottle. Most large retailers are likely to have one (e.g. BevMo, Total Wine), and smaller shops with a strong whiskey selection (like K&L) are likely to have their own picks, too.

If I were spending my own money, I’d grab a single barrel exclusive pick from Warehouse TY-K or TY-Q (e.g. this ParisTown from K&L). If I were spending someone else’s money, I might splurge on the Single Rickhouse—or maybe just explore a few exclusive bottles.