Russel’s Reserve 13 Year Bourbon: In-Depth Batch List & Review

What is the Wild Turkey Mashbill?

Wild Turkey has always been known for having high quality bourbon at a working man’s price. Wild Turkey 101 is a fan favorite and Wild Turkey bottles from the mid 1990’s and earlier are the some of the most coveted “dusty” bourbons out there. One of the newer Wild Turkey releases is Russel’s Reserve 13 Year Bourbon. Each batch is a blend of barrels aged at least 13 years, non-chill filtered and bottled at 114.8 proof. Wild Turkey uses a mashbill of 75% Corn, 13% Rye and 12% Malted Barley. MSRP for batch 1 was at $69.99 and has slowly ballooned up to around $150 for the batch 5 release.

Russel’s Reserve 13 Year In-Depth Batch List

Wild Turkey began releasing Russel’s Reserve 13 Year Bourbon in 2021 and has been an ongoing release. Each release has been a batch of bourbons blended together that are at least 13 years old. Some batches have had bourbon up to 20 years old! Each release has identical labeling and proof (114.8 proof). The only way to determine which batch you have is to locate the laser code etched in the glass of the bottle. It should be located on the bottom lip on the bottle. The picture below is the bottle I am going to review and it is batch 3, LL/KE.

Batch (Laser Code)	Release Date	Additional Info
Batch 1 – LL/JD	Spring 2021	135 barrels of 13 year old bourbon and 35 barrels of 19 year old bourbon
Batch 2 – LL/JL	Winter 2021	No specifics, but reportedly similar to batch 1
Batch 3 – LL/KE	Spring 2022	41 barrels of 20 year old bourbon, 17 barrels of 18 year old bourbon, unknown amount of barrels of 15 and 14 year old bourbon
Batch 4 – LL/LC	Spring 2023
Batch 5 – LL/LE	Spring 2023

Russel’s Reserve 13 Year In-Depth Review

I poured neat in a glencairn and let set for around 15 minutes. If you would like to support the site and buy a pair on glencairns, follow the hyperlink!

• Distillery: Wild Turkey
• Age: At least 13 years old (this batch is a blend of 20 year, 18 year, 15 year and 14 year old bourbon)
• Proof: 114.8 (57.4% ABV)
• Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye and 12% Malted Barley
• MSRP: $150.00

Color – Deep dark amber or aged copper. You can tell immediately this pour has some major age on it.

Aroma – What an aroma. I know there is a great bourbon in my glen when I can smell it from 3 feet away. Very aromatic with strong notes of oak followed by vanilla and caramel. There is a soft citrus note on the backend of the nose. 

Taste – The viscosity is thick and oily. There is a lot of barrel influence matching the nose. Tons of oak. Vanilla and caramel light up the front palate. I think there is a touch of dark stone fruits like a plum or dark cherry but it is hard to pick out with the strong barrel influence. The mid and back palate are covered with subtle notes of black pepper. This has deep, bold flavors influenced by the bourbon’s 14-20 years in the barrel.

Finish – A nice finish with strong notes of rye and pepper linger on the mid and back palate. A nice warm hug that also sticks around for multiple minutes. The finish is oaky which I love but it is also tannic and drying that is a bit off putting. Little to no fruitiness on the finish.

Rating – 9.2

Thoughts – Overall this is a great bourbon with big bold barrel influenced flavors of oak, vanilla and candied caramel. The mouthfeel is thick and viscous but different than the smooth silkiness I get with a Elijah Craig 18 Year or the Four Roses 16 Year OESV Flood Relief. I am a sucker for an oaky bourbon with a good mouthfeel and this hits the spot. This release is non-chill filtered (NCF) that also enhances the mouthfeel because the fatty-acids are not removed, adding to that nice thick bourbon mouthfeel.

I don’t get a ton of depth with more intricate notes of fruit or spice like I was expecting. I think those notes are there but overpowered by the hyper-aged bourbon blended into this pour. If the oak was toned down just a bit and there was more balance of fruit and spice I would have rated this even higher. I am now really curious what some of the other Russel’s Reserve 13 Year batches taste like.

If you love barrel influenced bourbons this is for you. I would recommend this neat, period. I wouldn’t dilute this with ice or used in a mixed drink because this is a special and unique pour. Russel’s Reserve 13 Year is proofed perfectly allowing the big bold flavors to shine through. The price tag is steep but I would recommend this to anybody wanting to taste a well aged, flavorful bourbon from an awesome distillery.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect