Russell's Reserve 13 Year Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey Reviewed & Revisited
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- After a very lackluster first impression on our Sunday Livestream, we decided to give the new Russell's Reserve 13 Year Barrel Proof another critical review along with recreating our comparisons to Wild Turkey Rare Breed and one of our favorite Russell's Single Barrels.
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Impossible to find here in North Florida!! I have tried it and it is good stuff .
Really appreciate the fair and balanced perspective y’all bring here. Would we love a RR13? Sure. But if we continue to strike out then we’ll be just as happy with Russell’s picks and Rare Breed. Great video guys!
This is the kind of content I miss. Love it! Keep it up.
Not this obviously but I just picked up a Russell's Reserve Private Barrel pick along with a New Riff single barrel. So disappointed considering the cost of the Russell's. New Riff, on the other hand, was magnificent! I'll stick with Rare Breed of those 3.
I don’t know how you all found this for $70. Today 2023 in Kentucky this bottle easily goes for upwards of $400. I haven’t seen it for less than that in any store. It’s one of my most sought after bottles. Cheers 🦉🥃
For me this was one I absolutely loved, felt the balance ut had was exactly what I've come to love from WT and the Russell's lineup
Oily Oaky Sweet...easy drinker
It's delicious...better than Blantons
Love the channel! Thanks for the re-review! Cheers!🥃👍🇺🇸
Completely agree with this assessment. Mid palette and finish is oak to drying oak. I loved this bottle through the first 1/5 of it, but now that it’s opened up some, I’m not as heavy into it. 82/100 is how I’d score it.
Honestly, She’s so beautiful ❤️
I just like the way you two do a show I just started collecting and I can’t tell a difference between anything
Thanks! Things get easier with time, you’ll be an expect yet!
An interesting side by side would be Russell's Reserve 13 & Wild Turkey Father & Son 13. Same Distillery, same age. That's a comparison I'd love to be able to do. Since I can't, can you please make it happen on your channel?
Haven't had a chance to compare this to Rare Breed and my Russell's picks, but I did blind RR13 against Bardstown Discovery 4, ECBP B520, and Stagg Jr. Batch 13. Stagg fell flat on its face, ECBP got the bronze medal, and Discovery 4 had my favorite mouthfeel but the flavor profile made me give the edge to RR13.
I will be looking for this Bottle! But I have to say....most everything I buy is comparison to WT Rare Breed! The Quality and the Cost! I have been a Rare Breed fan since it hit the Market, it was my 1st ever Barrel Proof bottle!
Thanks so much for the review Chad and Sara
Now THAT is saying something!
When 13 pushes out B520 and Disco4 you’ve put me on notice. (Now I just need to find one…just one 😬.)
@@baaa4698 i had the russells 13 with ecbp a121 and the ecbp stomped the 13. I find russells 13 pretty underwhelming. Id pay retail max.
@@LeatherDaddy97 wish I had an a121. I rate b520 higher than ec18yr so this 13 has me intrigued. Appreciate the note about a121. I’ll have to grab one if I trip across it.
@@baaa4698 my main point was that the russells definitely doesnt beat b520 or disco 4
OH hell yes, Just ordered some of the Crystal Glencairn's.
Would love to see you do a blind side by side for sure. Honestly I did love it right off the bat, once the “thrill of the hunt” that I got one at MSRP wore off, I’ve been revisiting and still absolutely enjoy it. Have a local store pick RR SiB and always have a Rare Breed on the shelf, and when I finish the RR13 I won’t be too sad since those are still extremely delicious bourbons
I was at the Wild Turkey visitor center over the weekend and 2 staff members confirmed there were roughly 33 barrels of 19 year whiskey in this 13yr release. I believe he said there were 170ish barrels of the 13 year. Don’t quote me on the #s but there is a decent amount of 19 year in there so I believe this is where you are getting the hints of “too much oak.” I still loved it. Cheers
Bourbon is a great thing! Specifically for supplying casks for single malt scotch!
Empty bourbon barrels do make Scotch a lot better! Bourbon is amazing :)
This is our unicorn. We probably won't ever find it, but the hunt is fun anyway. RR Single Barrel (especially some store picks) is absolutely delicious and affordable! Great review and perspective!
Will have to try it. Cheers
Damn wish I could find one.
Thanks for the follow up. Personally, I love RR single Bbl picks (I have 5 different ones). I will continue to ask around my usual haunts about RR13 and hope to get lucky. But I won’t pay more than a reasonable markup from suggested retail.
your second sip sara comment is timely for me. i just realized this week to consciously practice something similar. my first sip from now on is considered only to be a cleansing sip of sorts, or actually a wash. i swirl it all around to rid the palate of any leftover flavors from food or whatever, reserving judgement. so the second sip is now my first sip. it works each time for me. the second sip is so much better. so thank you, second sip sara, for confirming my reasons for doing so. and thanks for the review, of course, too. but why does rr10 get so little love? even in an rr comparison.
I think mostly because of the lower proof. It’s a great product but harder to compare to barrel and higher proof bourbons.
Im a wild turkey fan so hopefully i will find a bottle soon here in australia.godbless guys ,keep up the goodwork.cheers 2 u both
I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but as with many things I will of course be keeping my eyes open for the bottle at retail.
- Patrick
I feel the same as Sara. I've got a KC 15 year single barrel store pick that's overly oak forward and not nearly as enjoyable as the 11 year KC SBSP I had before it. Think I'll stick with my RR SB store picks for $49. Thanks guys!
I’ll have to try it again at some point, as I only had a sample….but honestly I was completely underwhelmed by the RR13….which is sad, because I really enjoy most RRs.
Someone gave you a regular russels
There’s NOTHING sad about not adding YET ANOTHER freakin’ unavailable, price gouged, allocated, you’ll go insane hunting, you’ll never get for less than TRIPLE the damn MSRP bourbon. Be thankful and pick up any of the DOZENS of readily available bourbons for HALF the price…hell, BUY THREE!!!
…..can you tell I’m OVER hunting freaking unicorns????
@@Kcemate i had the same reaction. Good but underwhelming
I have accounts in Maryland who have just gotten this in and are excited for it.
I did the RR13 tasting event at the distillery a couple weeks back .. 20% of this bottle is actually 19 year bourbon. Great bottle
That's what we've heard, too.
This needs to be judged on its current secondary price, 400-450. At that price get two WT 17 BiB... Which btw walks all over RR13
From memory, we like the 17 BiB better, also.
The 17 bib is better
750.00 where i work.
Yikes!!
I'm so happy that Second Sip Sara has taken hold.
Drinking Rare Breed full proof. Is delightful. Most Russell's s very stable to my taste. Hope to find 13 yo.
"Approaching too much oak." This begins after 12 years in the barrel for me. I really think for most bourbons, 12 years is the sweet spot.
So, is it missing that characteristic orange/citrus note like other WT expressions? That hi note is something I love in WT 101 and Rare Breed.
Yeah, it stays pretty dark in its notes.
Spot on. I wasn't lucky enough to get a bottle, but some bars in my area had it and was lucky enough to try it a few times. It's absolutely wonderful. For me I don't think it's right up on that "too much oak" line, but I could see where Sara is coming from in saying that. But as great as it is, Rare Breed is right up there. And some of those single barrels are even better. I've definitely got some that I'd put over RR13. Cheers, you two.
Wild statement...
If you're looking to drop roughly $70 on a bottle, skip Russell's (and bourbon) and buy a bottle of Appleton 15 year rum. Mind Blown!!!!!
Fight me!
Id get ecbp instead
Knob Creek SB 120 proof is much better than this. Plus it’s significantly cheaper and more readily available.
Agree with you 100% Just love KCSB Cheers!
It's harder to find the extra old single barrel store picks though since KC came out with the 12 and 15 year old small batches. But the KC Single Barrel is definitely a much better value.
Maybe this would be better served as an episode vs a response to a comment, but given all the different mashbills, proofs, filtration processes (or lack their of), and prices, what boxes does a bourbon need to check off in order for you to give it an "insert your high praising adjective" status?
Good question, maybe we will have to save this one for an episode. Thanks!
HATS, you say?? Darn it, guess I hit that "Order" button too soon!!
Also, can you make us some “second-sip-Sarah” shirts? I think #sssnation deserves them 😂
Would you pay $250 for a bottle?
Aren't bourbon whisky likely to get overly barrel bitter the older they get?
Yeah, that's a possibility but doesn't always happen.
@@ItsBourbonNightinteresting cheers guys. Is that because of were the barrel has been in the House?
@@darrenc8776 Could be. Higher in the warehouse gets more heat which means more interaction with the wood. Typically if you’re getting a 20 year or above, it probably spent its life on the first floor.
@@ItsBourbonNight thats why I think whisky is such an amazing drink. There are so many caveat to each whisky. It truly fascinating stuff.
Not worth the $400 that it is going for in my area of California.
I feel the marketing department made a call.
Wild turkey is trying to produce a bottle that becomes a tater bait bottle. And this is it.
And if a big RUclips channels slammed it, it could destroy the marketing Dept attempt..
at least that is how this looks on the surface.
Let me shed a little light on the subject since you seem interested in knowing. A distillery the size of turkey doesn't need to pay a RUclips channel to give their products a good review, they get enough of that for free. One "not exactly glowing review", let alone a totally negative one, isn't going shift the winds and change their bottom line. They're just too big for that. I hope that helps and thank you for the comment!
Maybe we had a bad bottle. I purchased this and shared with 5 avid bourbon drinkers. Everyone scored this 3rd to Rare Breed and RR SiB.
I think thats a fair assessment
80 retail, 400 sec.
Guys, you can't blame the seasons for your preferences when you're sitting in a perfectly air conditioned room.
I don’t know if we totally agree with ya there. Just speaking for myself, in the winter I’m wearing jeans and hoodies, I’m tired of being cold from going outside and I’m reaching for those higher proof, warmer whiskeys. In the summer, I’m in shorts and t-shirts and, whereas I’m not shying away from barrel proofs, i am looking towards a little lighter profile whiskey. We talk more about this in our Seasons Series where we pick 8 bourbon and ryes for each of the seasons.
@@ItsBourbonNight I understand the sentiment. The seasons don't affect my preferences too much, personally, unless I am outside at a party or something. That being said, I'm also in the Chicagoland area, so it's a bit of a different climate. We still get 90 degree days in the summer, and extremely cold temperatures in the winter though. I might grab some spicier stuff in the winter, but that has more to do with the novelty of the Holiday season than it does with the climate. I don't really shy away from higher proofs unless I'm outside on a hot day, and even then I can usually work my way up.
@@ItsBourbonNight i dont have that reaction. Good whiskey is good whiskey year round in my book
By Wild Turkey, I mean Wild Turkey. By Russell’s, I mean Russell’s🤪
You know what I mean! haha
WHISKEY CHEERS
Its not nearly as good as id hoped. Good, but not hype worthy.
You guys are the only people giving the Russell's what it deserves. Its meh
Wooo
That was the worst impression of Towelie I've ever heard... Luckily I loved the video anyways :P. I personally really like Russel's 13, I think it's a bargain for what it is (at MSRP).
Undersells the hype. Says it’s pretty good but NOT better then your own pick. Then states that you want it in the best of the contenders? Hmmm….something seems off here…..
We just want to see where it shakes out at the end of the year when it’s blind vs 20 or do others!
I dont think its better than any of the russells picks ive had man.
@@LeatherDaddy97 I’m torn by this comment….
101st comment lol
Most overpriced bourbon I have ever tried. Way too medicinal for it's age.
It's always a little suspect when a re-tasting provides an improved score after feeling pressure from other reviews and comments. Hmmm... even feeling the need for a revisit is questionable and it makes me wonder about the "influence" aspect for other tastings. I trusted your honest initial evaluation, now I'll have to second guess the motives. Hope I'm wrong, and you can reestablish my confidence in future shows.
As they say, the first taste was neck pour after opening and this review is a few weeks after. I agree with this review. At open RR13 is underwhelming however after opening a few weeks it is delightful!
1) I’m opposite of Sara and like Oak profiles
2) I got mine for $69.99
3) It also beat ECBP and Stagg Jr in my blind
4) Of any bottle I’ve ever tried, R13 improved the most from open/neck pour to 2+ weeks. It confuses me how much in particular this bottle improved.
5)I’ve heard other people say their bottle didn’t improve so maybe there is variability with the R13 too.
Well, like we said in the episode, we wanted to give it another shot because friends of ours and other acquaintances that have opinions we respect, were giving it such praise and wanted to see if our opinions would have changed after 2 weeks and by tasting it with a fresh palate. It sounds like you may have been with us for a while on our channel? First off, we do appreciate that so thank you, and second, I'm sure you can't recall a time in our last 5 years where we've made a video to change our tune about something. We don't mind having differing opinions from the rest of WhiskeyTube and when it happens, it happens. Plus, all the reviews about this whiskey were out and were aware to us before we reviewed it on the Live Stream. We didn't really get any negative feedback from that review, so I don't see why anyone would have thought we were trying to course-correct with this episode. This video was about giving things a second chance and not living and dying by your first impression. We wish everyone would do that because you just never know what circumstances may have changed that could affect your revisit in a positive or negative way. What we're really looking forward to is seeing how it shakes out in our blind best of the year episode. Thanks!
@@ItsBourbonNight I don't question your assessment of the R13, more why you felt the need to do the re-test. I have always appreciated your honesty and hope the retesting wasn't done to fit in with the crowd. A tasting scale from A to F is much more useful than a scale that only utilizes the A and B. Have always enjoyed your videos, especially the blind comparisons. Putting the R13 in a blind test of similar proof and price bourbons might be more telling and interesting. Thanks for hearing me out!
@@jydymyyyr9630 Yeah we for sure would love to put it in a blind flight.
Really need to expand your whiskey palette, it's obvious your going bourbon blind. Used to love the channel now meh.
Interesting, care to expand on that?
@@ItsBourbonNight The more we are exposed to the same flavor profiles consistently our taste buds become dulled to those flavors, we develop a tolerance to it. So things that would be super sweet, or spicy, become almost bland. Of course I have an old friend who snagged a bottle of RR13 and he says it's pretty bad, not just not very good but bad. Hoping we can get together soon and try my bottle and his head to head. I'm hoping there's not some really wide variance in these bottles, cause for $70 I won't gamble. Same reason I stopped buying the McKenna 10, at almost $50 dollars now that's an expensive lottery ticket. So in short maybe try staying away from the bourbon for a week or two, enjoy another type of whiskey or just go dry. Then comeback and see if you notice an appreciable difference.
@@froghollow6751 based on all the wildly varying notes and reactions ive seen including my own, i think theres a lot of variation between bottles
@@LeatherDaddy97 This is really disappointing news indeed.
@@froghollow6751 the one i had was buttercotch and bitter oak. Id rather have the standard russells