Russell's Reserve 13 Year Bourbon (2022 Release)

Rare breed turned up a notch. Phenomenal. Lucked upon at Happy Hour for $150.

damn

Sweet maple syrup on the nose. Very oaky palate, intense. Spice, WT funk, very pleasant at 57%. Finish is long and dry with lovely sweet tobacco. It’s good…. but I like RR10 single barrel better. Didn’t expect that. As a certified WT fanboy I am DELIGHTED to have tried it!

Bottle la been open for a about a week. Second tasting neat: Nose: chocolate covered cherries, smoked oak Taste: really smoky and oaky. Cocoa or dark chocolate, dried dark fruit. Finish: the smoked oak stays with you with a dry chocolate finish At MSRP it’s worth every penny but completely over priced at secondary prices.

Tasting- blind, neat, side by side with batch 1 Overall: 3x I picked batch 1. The profile is discernable and a matter of preference. B1 was fruity, vibrant, caramel, cherry, oak, pops of vanilla, and oak. A flavor explosion. B2 is very good BUT it is a bit more drying, and barrel funkier than B1. It is more traditional Wild Turkey whereas B1 to me was more special. Truthfully I have had more outstanding Russell's SiBs then what B2 offers. That said- this is outstanding, down home, Turkey funkalicious bottle! I am not sad I have it, it is just that B1 hit all the marks where B2 was a bit drying. Saving grace- hit a 2 oz. Sample with about 7 drops of water and the B2 is outstanding.

First drink. It’s okay really oaky,

N: Caramel with dark cherry notes T: Rolls onto the tongue like melted caramel before transitioning into a lovely spice mid palate. F: 15-20 seconds Very pleasant drinking experience.