Baking spices | Dried apple chips | Cinnamon stick | Brown sugar | Charred oak | Vanilla cream | Classic aroma

Brown sugar crumbles | Mild rye spice | Baking spices | Baked cinnamon apple | Cinnamon stick | Aged oak | Silky mouthfeel

Rye spice | Baking spices | Light brown sugar | Brown butter | Maple cream candy | Light mixed peppercorn | Aged oak | Lingering gentle spice

Wild Turkey’s Single Rickhouse series was introduced in 2021 and “explores whiskey ‘terroir,’ and how the exact location of the rickhouse – an often-overlooked detail, influences the whiskey’s final character.” Following last year's Camp Nelson E, the latest release, Camp Nelson D is the fifth and final rickhouse on the Camp Nelson property. The company states that  Camp Nelson D is “positioned on the western side of the campus and at the highest elevation of any rickhouse featured in the Collection to date, Camp Nelson D sits apart from the surrounding warehouses. Its elevated, exposed, west-facing position creates strong, consistent airflow, contributing to an aging environment not previously explored through the Collection.”

By selecting barrels from floors one, three, four, five, and six, Camp Nelson D truly showcases what the warehouse has to offer, which is especially interesting as Eddie Russell is usually known to avoid the first floor. More so, this release highlights why the Russells are so well respected over the decades, with this release being a quintessential classic bourbon through and through thanks to rich spice and fruit notes.

The bourbon opens with an aroma that hones in on baking spices, dried apple chips, and cinnamon stick. Sweeter scents of brown sugar and vanilla cream act as pleasing companions to draw you in. The sweetness carries over to the midpoint as brown sugar crumbles butt up against pleasing spices and various forms of cinnamon. The silky mouthfeel transitions to pleasing spice notes in the form of rye spice, baking spices, and light mixed peppercorn. Light brown sugar and maple cream candy add a dab of sweetness before aged oak pops up and transitions the finish to a lingering gentle spice.

We found last year’s release to be oak-dominated. This year’s release is also dominated by a single aspect, but it’s not oak; it’s the whiskey's scant 13% rye in its mashbill. The whiskey’s 75% corn definitely adds sweet notes throughout the sip, but it’s surprising to see how much rye influence the bourbon contains. Baking spices and rye spice make themselves known in a dominant, yet never overly assertive way, resulting in a bourbon that is more spice-dynamic than it would seem it has a right to be.

The result is a sip that comes across as incredibly well integrated. Its classic bourbon notes are accentuated by its spicier components, resulting in an excellent sip that both Wild Turkey fans and general bourbon drinkers alike will appreciate. Its $300 price will rightfully give pause to many and won’t go unnoticed by consumers; however, this year’s Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson D will please those who are willing to pony up for a bottle.