Russell's Reserve 13 Year Bourbon (2023 Release)

Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium-dark amber. Smell: Vanilla with hints of dark fruit. Taste: Cinnamon and baking spice come first, followed by dry oak tannins. Aftertaste: The spices and oak remain for a medium duration with considerable warmth. Splash: Somehow the spice gets stronger with a few drops of water. Overall: 9/10 - This distillery's offerings have really been growing on me lately. At the approximate halfway point between the 10 year and 15 year is this tasty bottle, worth every cent of it's $150 MSRP. I had tried it on New Year's Eve after a few other drinks and had rated it even higher but didn't have the chance to give it a proper review until now. Just a little more in the aftertaste would really push this up to a 10/10. Otherwise, it's excellent. I hope these become simpler to get as the bourbon boom shows signs of weakening in 2026.

My wife gave me a nice Glencairn for my birthday, a gift from a content creator I enjoy. I decided to open a premium bottle. This is a first pour from the bottle. The aroma is dominated by caramel, with hints of spice and oak. The flavor is very oak-forward, more than anticipated but exceedingly smooth. The oakiness has a slight bitterness. Beneath the oak, there's a pleasant caramel. Some cherry is also present. The finish is quite nice, a smooth warmth that leaves a pleasant sweetness at the back of the throat. Overall, it's a very enjoyable drink. It's smooth and delicious. There's a bitterness I'm not fond of, but its smoothness is remarkable. I'll revisit this one later and suspect I'll appreciate it more after the initial pour.

While visiting the new Wild Turkey distillery, I decided to sample this for the first time at their bar. The distillery itself is fantastic, offering amazing views of the Kentucky River and a superb upstairs bar area for enjoying their harder-to-get selections. Regarding the RR13, its aroma presents honeysuckle, vanilla, and a touch of leather. The flavor profile is incredibly smooth, with a rich, oily and buttery texture that creates a delightful sipping sensation. Initial tastes of brown sugar and oaky molasses give way to a pleasant, clean woody finish. I believe it fully lives up to the buzz, and combined with the new distillery, it provided a memorable bourbon adventure.

I'll likely be the only one saying this. This wasn't really my thing. I purchased a tasting kit with this and several other Russell offerings, but I only bought it for this specific sample. Finding the bottle is a real challenge, and it comes with a hefty price tag if you do manage to find it. I've seen it showcased behind locked glass, listed for more than $400. Looking back, I'm very pleased I never purchased a full bottle. The aroma is acceptable—caramel, vanilla, and notes of baking spice. It's the palate that didn't work for me. Far too much oak and tannin, with a saccharine flavor. It felt like it had gone beyond its peak. I'm questioning if the kits all contained subpar samples, or perhaps the quality has declined compared to earlier batches. Who can say... but based on this tasting, I wouldn't spend over $50

[5.25.2024] A well-deserved (by the family) family trip to Michigan led to a lakehouse visit with some of our cherished friends. Turns out we share a fondness for Russell's and brought out a sip of this treasure. This is a bit intense (think like that raw bite of Stagg Jr.) but I believe that's the intention. A touch of saltiness brings to mind horse harness sweat leaching through the leather. The oak is more like an aged barrel than that raw greenness found in some younger versions. A solid drink, but the right Russell's Single Barrel can be superior.

Batch 5. Wonderful, with abundant caramel, molasses, dark fruit, mint, and leather notes. Nose: Caramel, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Raisins, Brown Sugar, White Chocolate, Raspberries, Pecans, Marshmallows, Peppermint, Milk Chocolate Palate: Caramel, Milk Chocolate, Peaches, Apricots, Luxardo Cherries, Raspberries, Walnuts, Cloves, Cinnamon, Spearmint, Licorice, Tobacco, Leather Finish: Tastes like Banoffee Pie, Rum Raisins, Honey, Molasses, Maple Syrup, Apricots, Peaches, Plums, Treacle, Brown Sugar, Tobacco, Leather, Dates