Russell’s Reserve 15 Year Bourbon Review – 2024
In 2021 Russell’s Reserve 13-year was first introduced and it was met with rave reviews, sending bourbon hounds hunting. There have been a total of 5 batches of Russell’s 13 released, all with the same proof, but with some variations in flavor. They are laser coded if you care to research or hunt for the different batches. But this year, Wild Turkey skipped the release of a 13 year and jumped to a 15 year age stated bourbon! It’s said that Eddie Russell has tasted the barrels for this no less than 10 times over the past 15 years, waiting for the right time to bottle and release it. So, if you are lucky enough to have a bottle, grab a pour and join me in this Russell’s Reserve 15 year bourbon review.
Rumors have it that there were about 900 barrels of 15+ year bourbon blended together for the Russell’s Reserve 15, and that on average, 68% went to the angel’s share. This suggests that there may have been some hazmat (140+ proof) barrels added to the blend. Eddie is well known for his expertise in finding the right balance between proof and depth of flavor when fine-tuning his prized whiskeys with nature’s water. RR15 is said to be sourced from the Camp Nelson campus with a blend of approximately 75% 15-year old bourbon and 25% 16-year old bourbon.
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: 15 years. (A blend of 75% 15-yr & 25% 16-yr old barrels.)
Proof: 117.2
Proof Designation: na
Filtered Status: Non-Chill Filtered
Mash bill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley.
Barrel Char Level: 4
Barrel Entry Proof: 115
Distillate Source: Wild Turkey
Distillery: Wild Turkey
Company: Campari Group
Bottled By: Wild Turkey
Distilled/Aging Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Master Distiller: Eddie Russell
Release Date: June 2024
Rickhouse Location: Camp Nelson
Batch Notes: Rumored to be 50,000 to 80,000 bottles
MSRP: $250
Secondary Market: $350 – $700
Availability: Low/Rare
Russell’s Reserve 15 Year Bourbon Review – 2024 Batch
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience. After you have taken your own tasting notes, read the reviews and see if there is a flavor note that others discerned that now you can detect as well.
For this tasting: Fresh Crack, Glencairn Glass, Neat, Room Temp, Breathe: 20 minutes
Legs
The beads on the crown formed in about 5 seconds, about 21 seconds for the first legs to start falling, and about 70 seconds for the first legs to fall to the bowl. However, other legs took over 2 minutes to reach the bowl. The legs did bleed together to form thicker legs.
Nose
Holy crap this is complex and beautiful! Dark flavors abound. Dark caramel, burnt sugar, maple syrup, old oak, butterscotch, milk chocolate, sweet tobacco, fig, sweet cherry, orange zest, chocolate-ginger, vanilla. Fabulous!
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: This smells fantastic! It brings a lot of dark fruits…a lot of dates and honey. Some black raspberry. You definitely get the oak but its not overpowering. There’s no medicinal cherry, but maybe some black cherry. The oak is prevalent but my favorite part is the Wild Turkey funk that it has.
Rare Bird 101: (notably mature, complex) Molasses, black cherry, dense oak, baked brown sugar, toasted caramel, boozy fig, cigar box.
Whiskey Advocate: The nose delivers on Eddie Russell’s promise of sweetness and fruit; there’s ample dark cherry, some fig, caramel corn, and the earthiness that Wild Turkey denizens will appreciate. There are some tobacco notes on the bouquet, too.
Palate
The palate follows suit with so much complexity! Dark caramel, vanilla extract, old oak, fig, sweet cherry, anise, black pepper, brown sugar, marshmallow?, saddle leather, orange zest, mild chocolate, mild barrel char on the back palate.
All of the flavors are complex, nuanced, perfectly balanced, intriguing. It is a marriage of fabulous, well-balanced flavors.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: Oh, holy crap! It came in a little lighter on the palate, but once it hits the backend and the finish is just ridiculous on this whiskey. Black cherry, honey, dates, something very rich, something very sugary-sweet, a lot of brown sugar. The mid-palate to the finish is where all the magic happens. Some molasses, some dark chocolate, a hint of sweet tobacco, some leather notes.
Rare Bird 101: (robust, chewy) English toffee, oak-aged brandied cherries, dark honey–maple, savory blood orange, clove, tobacco, warm spice.
Whiskey Advocate: It has a nice viscosity that coats your mouth like syrup, though the weight of the liquid itself is rather light. A creamy cherry note starts on your palate and builds like a freight train gathering steam. Pops of caramelized apples, and maraschino cherry all crop up before it transitions into the Wild Turkey spice Russell seeks, which manifests as clove, nutmeg, and even a little spiced pecan. There’s a solid amount of oak, but it doesn’t crowd the glass or diminish the lighter, sweeter notes.
Finish
Exceptionally long finish with toffee, cherry cola, cloves, orange, fig, vanilla, old oak and mild dryness like barrel char. It is both sweet and dry…weird but great.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: Sweet with a lingering spice that is phenomenal. The finish is the best part…it goes on for days.
Rare Bird 101: Long & flavorful w/ Coca-Cola Classic, cherry cordials, syrupy charred oak, vanilla bean, chocolate brownie, cinnamon stick, leather.
Whiskey Advocate: The finish is tremendously long. It goes on for minutes, though it’s a pleasing one, melding dark cherry with dark chocolate, a touch of tobacco, a generous amount of oak, and some candied orange peel. Overall, it’s like tucking into a freshly made crème brûlée with some macerated cherries atop, dusted with citrus zest. You’ll immediately want another pour.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel is rich and viscous. Not quite to the fabulous mouth-coating viscosity of Coy Hill, but close. Very pleasant.
The Burn
4 out of 5. This means that the burn from the alcohol is a bit lower (5% to 9%) than what I would expect it to be. I would guess this to be around 110 proof, not 117.2 proof.
Tasting Summary
Russell’s Reserve 15 year bourbon opens with dark, rich, complex flavors that hit the palate first. Dark sweetness of rich caramel, dark cherry, old oak, saddle leather and chocolate. Then a balanced spiciness emerges with anise and black pepper mixed with orange peel and butterscotch.
The finish is long and pleasant. The dark, sweet flavors remain along with a balanced oakiness and a mild dryness that is both sweet & dry at once.
My Rating
The higher the score the better the whiskey is in my opinion. For reference, my best rated bottle so far is the George T. Stagg 2022 (138.7p) with a score of 9.7.
| Score Type | Score | Examples |
| Likability Score | 9.7 | 1.0 – 10.0 |
| Availability Score | 2 | 1-Rare, 2-Hard to Find, 3-A Little Hunting, 4-Easy to Find |
My Tasting Notes
A blank version of this tasting notes wheel is available in both a color and a black & white version in the member’s area.
If you found this Russell’s Reserve 15 Year Bourbon review 2024 helpful, forward it to a friend!
What did you rate the RR15? 9.7 like the GTS ‘22?
I enjoyed both of them very, very much! Sadly, I don’t own GTS ’22 so I could not do a side by side. So my 9.7 rating means that it is amongst my most favorite whiskeys ever tasted.