Russell's Reserve 13 Year Bourbon (2023 Release)

Review #300 Glass: Glencairn, rested 15 minutes. Color: Medium-dark amber. Nose: Vanilla with tots of dark fruit. Palate: Cinnamon and baking spice lead into dry oak tannins. Finish: The spices and oak linger for a medium length with a good amount of heat. Splash: Somehow the spice intensifies with a few drops of water. Overall: 9/10 - Russell's Reserve has really been growing on me lately. At the rough midpoint between the 10 year and 15 year is this delicious bottle, worth every penny 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 opportunity to give it a proper review until now. Just a touch more in the finish would really kick this up to a 10/10. Otherwise, it's fantastic. I hope these become easier to obtain as the bourbon boom shows signs of weakening in 2026.

For my birthday my wife got me a fancy Glencairn from one of the youtubers I follow, so decided to open a fancier bottle. So this is a neck pour off this bottle. The nose is very caramel forward, I get hints of spice and the oak. The taste is very oak forward, more than I expected but very smooth. The oakiness is a bit bitter. Behind the oak is a very nice caramel. There is some cherry in there too. The finish is really nice, its a smooth burn that settles in a nice sweetness in the back of the throat. Overall, it is a very nice pour. It is smooth and delicous. There is a bitterness that I am not in love with but it is really smooth. I will review this again in the future and I would bet I would like it better beyond the neck pour.

I was checking out the new Wild Turkey visitor’s center and had to try this for the first time at the bar there. First off, the bew visitor’s center is phenomenal. Tremendous panoramic views of the Kentucky River and a great patio/second floor bar to relax and sample some of their more difficult to find products. Back to RR13, it smells like honeysuckle and vanilla with a hint of leather to finish. Taste-wise it’s exceptionally smooth with a thick, oily+buttery mouth feel that makes for a wonderful sipping experience. Notes of brown sugar and oaky molasses hit immediately followed by a pleasant, clean woody finish. Well worth the hype in my opinion and paired with the new visitor’s center it made for a great bourbon experience.

I’m definitely going to be the outlier. Oddly, this wasn’t for me. I bought a tasting kit that had this plus a few other Russell samples. But admittedly, the only reason I bought the kit was for this sample. The bottle is so difficult to find, and if you do, it’s so expensive. I’ve seen it behind closed glass panes, priced well over $400. In retrospect, so glad I never bought one. Nose is fine—- caramel, vanilla, baking spice It’s the taste that fell apart for me. Just way too oaky and tannic, saccharin tasting. It’s as if this was past it’s prime. Wondering if the kits all got bad samples? Or maybe it’s degraded in quality vs the previous releases? Who know…but based on this pour, I’d not even pay $50

[5.25.2024] A much-earned (by the family) family trip to Michigan led to a lakehouse visit with some of our favorites. Turns out we share a love for Russell's and broke out a sip of this treasure. This is a bit stiff (think like that raw bite of Stagg Jr.) but I think thats the point. A touch salty brings to mind horse harness sweat leaching through the leather. Oak is more of an aged barrel than that raw greenness coming through in some younger renditions. A solid drink but the right Russell's Single Barrel can trump it.

Batch 5. Fantastic with loads of caramel, molasses, dark fruit, mint, and leather. 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: Banoffee Pie, Rum Raisins, Honey, Molasses, Maple Syrup, Apricots, Peaches, Plums, Treacle, Brown Sugar, Tobacco, Leather, Dates