Russell's Rivalry! Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel vs Russell’s Reserve 13 (2021) Review

Note: this review was originally posted on r/bourbon in January 2022.

Background

Spoiling my review a bit here, but like many others Russell’s Reserve 13 was one of my favorite whiskeys of 2021. If it was not hard to find on release and in the subsequent months, its #1 spot on Fred Minnick’s 2021 Best Of list has pushed the secondary market for this bottle even higher.

And then we have the regularly available off the shelf, Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel. I need to first come clean about a particular kind of stupidity: the availability of this bottle led to a snobbish avoidance. The thinking went something like “It’s around. I’ll try it eventually, right?” Now, Russell’s Reserve 13 is going to be an annual release from Wild Turkey, but I like to assume the worst and figure it may be a while before I get my hands on another bottle. As such, how does the off the shelf Single Barrel offering hold up side by side as a (significantly more available) substitute?

Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel (NAS, 110 Proof)

Nose: Rich caramel, spearmint, walnuts and clove. It’s sweet, spicey, and draws you right in.

Palate: Cherry cola, cinnamon, toffee, Toblerone candy bars, mulled wine. Significantly less wood influence than on the 13 but it’s still a rich and flavorful palate.

Finish: Long medicinal cherry, leather, caramel, tobacco

Great (7/10)

Overall: When friends ask me what is a good bottle they can find, either for gifts or to drink themselves, this is often the direction I point them in. The wide range of flavors is exceptional and in my opinion it drinks well below it’s 110 proof

Russell’s Reserve 13 (13, 114.8 Proof)

Nose: Plum, caramel, apple, light mint. Against the Single Barrel the fruits are darker, caramel more intense, and the mint fades a bit more to the background.

Palate: Cherry (but closer to the wood than the fruit), caramel and then robust oak bridges the sip from the sweet initial notes to black pepper and spiced nuts.

Finish: Tannic, oak, peppery, a bit more lingering mint. The cherry in the Single Barrel becomes more of a red wine note here, and more subtle.

Excellent (8/10)

Overall: Yeah, it blows that this is ridiculous to obtain.  

The point I’m trying to make here is obvious to many already: Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel is wonderful and worth your time. Money is relative, I do not like to assume or tell people how to spend it. That said for me, both of these bottles will run out, and I’m optimistic I’ll walk over to my local liquor store and grab another bottle of Single Barrel. Maybe I’ll find another reasonably priced bottle of 13 year next go around, maybe (probably) not. But I’ll rest easy knowing that thanks to Single Barrel, I can taste some delicious Wild Turkey juice without too much struggle.