Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 95 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 61.9% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $200.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-07-15 |
Russell's Reserve 13 Bourbon (Spring 2025) Review
First introduced in 2021, Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon quickly became a runaway hit for the Wild Turkey-produced label. Indeed, the bottle seemed to make the leap from line extension to genre-defining release in near-record time, a trend only furthered by 2024’s 15-year version that took the whiskey into new territory for both age and proof.
After much speculation, Wild Turkey confirmed we won’t be seeing another 15-year Russell’s in the near future, or at least not in 2025. Instead, we’re back to a 13-year bourbon, this time finally featuring a unique batch indicator and proof.
While previous Russell’s 13 releases were batched at a barrel proof of 114.8 — leveraging the legally allowable margin of error — the newest release clocks in at 123.8, making it the highest-proof batched product to ever come out of Wild Turkey proper. Moving forward, all (presumably annual) Russell’s 13 bottlings will feature unique batch indicators and proof points. In the brand’s words, those label additions offer “a distinctive and collectible bottling at every release.”
According to Wild Turkey master distiller Eddie Russell, the new 13-year bourbon “carries the signature profile the 13 is known for, but with enhanced cola notes that bring a new depth of flavor.” Let’s see if that holds true!
Russell's Reserve 13 Bourbon 2025: Stats and Availability
An allocated, limited, annual release, Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon carries a suggested retail price of $200. That’s a significant bump from the roughly $70 MSRP it launched with in 2021. Of course, that was a very different time in bourbon terms, and well before Wild Turkey (and corporate owner Campari) knew what a hit it had on hand. Bottles of the new 13-year-old batch are already being distributed across the country in limited supply, in addition to some popping up online and at the Wild Turkey Visitor’s Center (in limited quantities). Don’t be too surprised to see bottles listed for $300+ at retail, especially since the new, highest-ever proof point may command special value among collectors.
Russell's Reserve 13 Bourbon 2025 Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
The boosted proof for the new 13 is immediately noticeable, but that ethanol kick doesn’t overpower the initial aromas. If anything, it buoys them a bit, with heavy emphasis on some typical Russell’s scents: vanilla frosting, hefty baking spice (grated clove is especially potent), and plentiful oak, all touched by red hot cinnamon chewing gum. It’s not as extravagantly oaky and earthy as last year’s 15-year-old release, but there’s still a great deal of toasted wood stave, dried sawdust, and near-burnt caramel to remind us this is a decade-plus Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
A little more time in the glass begets fruit — Luxardo cherry, orange-infused chocolate — and a variation on the lightly sour and earthen “funk” the brand has come to embrace and list in its own tasting notes. Espresso and nutmeg-dusted sweet cream lend an element akin to a hot Irish coffee, before dark chocolate and burnt citrus round out the back end of a deep sniff.
Taste
For the highest-proof product in Russell’s Reserve history, the first couple sips are impressively approachable, conveying less alcohol heat across the tongue than the nose implied. Early tastes are very sweet, with both dark chocolate and oak tannins providing some welcome direction instead of an otherwise cloying frosting or icing flavor. Heavily spiced cherry cola is up next, again with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg influence, in addition to white pepper. Compared to the nose key differentiation is spiced versus spicy, and that cinnamon component is more freshly grated than red chewing gum.
In addition to more cocoa, a variety of fruit accumulates along the midpalate, specifically rich apple butter and (once again) orange chocolate. Early sweetness continues, so that by the time red fruit develops, it’s in the form of sugar-crusted cherry pie, the top and edges oozing with semi-caramelized fruit syrup. A moderately viscous mouth feel helps keep sweet flavors around without coating the tongue so heavily as to dampen the brighter fruit. Even further on, mint and menthol move across the upper palate while charred oak gradually takes the reins on the back of the tongue.
Finish
Increasingly dark chocolate and oak form the backbone of the long, if semi-dry finish. There are some other lingering, familiar flavors — espresso, cherry syrup, pepper — but it’s really wood in the driver’s seat from here on out. To that end, the latest Russell’s 13 doesn’t boast the most complex finish for a Russell’s release in recent memory — I’d place it a tick behind the superlative Russell’s Reserve Rickhouse B — but it’s still a pleasant final act.
Russell's Reserve 13 Bourbon 2025 Rating
95/100
Recap
The new, stronger-than-ever Russell’s Reserve 13 lives up to its pedigree, delivering on the promise of big aromas and flavor at almost every juncture. I wouldn’t call it my favorite of the lineup — the balance of 2021’s first release was truly something to behold — but it’s an undeniably high-quality bourbon set to deliver for both dedicated and casual Russell’s fans alike. With the new batch and proof indicators, it’s clear Wild Turkey is finally inviting us to compare and contrast across releases. Prep your tasting flights accordingly.
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