Widow Jane Lucky Thirteen Small Batch Bourbon (Fall 2021)

I had the chance to try a 10 year store pick of WJ and was pleasantly surprised. Russell's 13 has been spotted in my area and the masses have been swarming leaving this nice little WJ on the shelf for me to take home. How nice of the masses.... Nose is not woody for a 13 year. It has brown sugar notes, maybe a little peanut, and I even sense a small hint of cherries. First sip hits some light fruity notes. The cherry hint on the nose plays right on through the first taste. The proof isn't overpowering on the one and it isn't a heavy puncher. The cherry front end makes the biggest splash and the middle and back end are a slow decent of cinnamon and brown sugar notes. The flavor profile here is quite different almost like a cherry pie. I would almost assume this was a finished bottle if I didn't know better. I am not sure here if the soft fade leaves me wanting another sip or disappointed there isn't a little more going on in this dram. Overall the intial flavor is really lovely. The cherry pie in a glencairn is quite nice, but I wish it brought just a bit more to the table. If you haven't tried this it is certainly worth the pick up. Not sure I would scramble for another, but there are few bottles that reach that level for me. I am happy to have found this little bottle on the shelf for sure and I definitely recommend it as a pickup if for nothing else than the unique profile.

The nose is rich starting with a mix of lime zest on top of coconut macaroon and old oak then dark chocolate covered peanut brittle followed by fruits of orange sherbet, apple pie filling and maraschino cherries that transitions to spearmint, cloves, vintage leather and polished mahogany with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of lime zest on top of coconut macaroon and old oak then a high drying, bitter and chalky spice overwhelms the flavors before eventually fading to dark chocolate covered caramel peanut clusters followed by fruits of orange sherbet, apple lollipop and maraschino cherries that transitions to spearmint, cloves, vintage leather and moderate ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate covered peanut clusters, Granny Smith apple peel, sour cherries, spearmint, cloves and moderate ashy oak. The nose was very promising with some bold traditional bourbon flavors, citrus and old oak, but the taste betrayed me with that high drying bitter chalkiness that overpowers all the other flavors until it finally fades to let them start to emerge. At the cost of around $100, I’d pass as there are plenty of other options that are far better and cost less than this one.

I've been sitting on this one for a bit thinking I might trade it. I had someone offer a bottle of Booker's, which I now regret not taking. The recent @pkingmartin review piqued my curiosity, as I had a pretty good experience with the 10 year, and thought this surely was a step up, and not just in price. I only paid about 41 dollars on this, so I figured it was worth that to give it a try, and it looks like I ended up thinking even less of it than Pking. It's both bland and off-putting at the same time. Bitter, thin, shows a strong vitamin note like a bad bottle of Dickel. I am certain that my rating is affected by the nagging thought that I could be sipping on Booker's instead of this, but I would say this is not only a horrible deal at SRP of $100, but it's a bad deal at the $40 I paid for it. Buy 4 bottles of WT101 and you'll be immensely more satisfied.

My first experience with anything WJ. Received this as a bday gift from my lovely wife. My first impression after cracking the seal was that it came off a tad hot. Lots of baking spices as well. Similar to red hot candies. I'm happy to report that after a couple more pours (this being my 3rd) things dialed back some. It became much smoother. Interestingly enough I got subtle smoke combined with a prominent leather character throughout. There was also a hint of apple along with the previously experienced baking spices. It's safe to say this opened up very nicely indeed. I'm intrigued enough now to try more of WJ's offerings in the future. But for now, I will thoroughly enjoy the Lucky 13. Which I feel is a lucky number being that I was born on the 13th. 😎🥃

This one seems to be polarizing. Im finding it to be decent but expected more from a 13yr bourbon. Its got some thin caramel and coconut milk with a heavy handed barrel influence. I do get a bit of Dickel flair with smoky vanilla and hint of flintstone. Dries out to bitter tannins on the too quick finish. Overall over-oaked and lacking deep bold flavors you hope for at price point. Honestly grab some Dickel BIB or even #12 if you like this profile. You'll get a better whiskey and save some $$ at the same time.......74/100.....not bad but way overpriced for what you get....another thanks to sooner for sample

First tried this on my annual Florida trip. Of four of us tasting, I was the only one to like it, so Frank gave me the bottle, I brought it home and stuck it in the cabinet. Found it again today. While I like it, $100 is way heavy for what it delivers. So there's three 13 year old bourbons from IN, TN ans KY. I am guessing MGP high, Dickle and who knows on the KY component. Given what's in there, I expected more. It's got a nice rich vanilla-caramel nose but lacks depth. Same on the palate and the finish is disappointing, quite bitter. I like it but more like a $40 bottle.