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Russell’s 13 vs Old Forester 1924 vs Eagle Rare 12: Is The Hype Real?

Jim Drinks

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Is that expensive bottle actually better? I put Russell's 13, Old Forester 1924, and Eagle Rare 12 year to a blind bourbon tasting against their classic shelfer counterparts. Are the upgrade bottles worth the hype, or should you just stick to the (mostly) easy to find bottles you already love?

Whether you are a collector looking for your next pour or just curious about how a rare bourbon stacks up against standard options, its time to see which of these bottles holds up when the labels are hidden. Plus... the standard volume of Jim Drinks buffoonery, on top!

MASSIVE shout out to Blake from @NerdsAtNite for the Russell’s sample! Couldn’t have made this video without it. Thanks dude!

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Chapters:

0:00 The Great Bourbon Hunt Experiment
1:00 First Sips and Initial Impressions
4:01 The Mid-Tasting Confusion
7:21 Surprising Notes and Unexpected Funk
10:06 Shocking Conclusions

16 Comments

@jimdrinks Creator 11 days ago Pinned

MASSIVE shout out to Blake from @NerdsAtNite⁠ for the Russell’s sample! Couldn’t have made this video without it. Thanks dude!

@NerdsAtNite 13 days ago

I’m never giving you any more of my Russ 13 if you’re gonna slander it like this on your channel 😂

@Marine1111-p5x 11 days ago

This is a great example that whiskey can vary in taste by bottle and that cost isn't always the best. I've seen blind taste test where "buffalo trace" won the taste test over expensive whiskeys. They complained about the proof, but ranked it 1st. So, my point is, he may do this same blind test tomorrow and rank them differently.

@milsurprifles 6 days ago

When I blind with buddies, I like to swig a Mineragua Mineral water between. The bubbles do a good job of getting the oils off my palette. Otherwise, it’s pretty crazy how much the bourbon I drank before affects the one after. Might be why they tasted so different the second time through. Entertaining video though. You got a new sub from me. 👍🥃

@davidteller7681 12 days ago

1924 next to last??? Crazy

@dmitripress9853 9 days ago

1924 for me pure acetone smell ;-) My 12 years Eagle Rare was an outstanding bottle. Curious if all 12 years ER bottles are same.

@raymonkravagna3226 9 days ago

It always surprises me how these guys who do blind tasting seldom can tell you what the whiskey or bourbon was that they tasted.

@blackpaw254 6 days ago

I just stumbled on an Eagle Rare 12 year at a duty free shop flying back from Europe for only 50 Euros 🤯. Only downfall is they limited it to only 1 bottle per traveler 😢. ER 12 is a unicorn 🦄 where I live in VA.

@aaacoffeebreak 13 days ago

Now THIS is the kind of comparison I want to see 😂 Russell’s 13, Old Forester 1924 and Eagle Rare in the same lineup is dangerous. I’m building out a bourbon-hunt channel around Houston, so I’ve got to ask — if you could only keep ONE of these on your shelf, which one survives? 🥃

@YukonKornelius-ur4xw 10 days ago

Do crayons smell different? I'm not sure about that, but I know they taste different... A friend told me so.

@EllieBanks333 11 days ago

I mean... the rankings were so different the first time around. Which was more like I thought it would go. I noticed your Eagle 10 was a store pick, so that could be different, but the regular Eagle 10 is nothing special. Nothing wrong with it, but it's just a solid high quality bourbon. One that I buy at $45, and it's worth it. Not exciting though.

@dongardner2182 1 day ago

Trust your pallet bro. Russell’s Private Barrel isn’t that good, in my opinion. I gave mine away it was so boring and mid. Russell’s 13 is just okay. Never understood the hype. I remember trying it, thinking; “Seriously? That’s it?” It was also very mid to me. With that said, I believe Wild Turkey is over rated, just as Michter’s is. Beyond Rare Breed, their releases are just okay to me. Rare Breed is my favorite release they have. Your first pick was spot on, in my opinion. 1924 is a very nice pour for me. Cheers and happy Friday.

@LarryH-t1g 8 days ago

Wow you butchered that

@jamesbowers2814 9 days ago

Hard to beat that OFO!

@dougharris2875 9 days ago

Im sorry, not trying to complain but so many channels spend so much time sniffing . I don't care what it smells like.......we don't snort it!!

@patrickyb8840 7 days ago

Eagle Rare are ALL single barrel, except for the one at the beginning of the barrel and the one at the end.......so 2 of approx 200 bottles.
I've had Eagke Rare 10 beat $125 bottles frequently .
The New Riff Single Barrel ($47) i just bought, might beat every bottle i own......about 60
Blinds are fun !!!