Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 Review [In Depth]
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 Details
Distillery / Brand: Willett
Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 47%
Composition: Unknown
Aged: At least 13 years
Color: 1.4/2.0 on the color scale (tawny)
Price: I paid $500
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 overview
What the heck is Old Kentucky? I wondered this a few years ago when I saw a bottle for around $450. I lived in Japan at the time and didn’t have a job, so I didn’t get it. Fast forward to 2024 and I found myself facing another bottle. I decided to buy it this time. Even with the exceedingly strong dollar, it still cost me around $500, which is uh…very expensive.
That’s not meant as a brag, but a reality check that these “dusties” are very expensive. In 2010 or even 2015, these bottles were probably half to a third of the price…but oh how times have changed.
Old Kentucky 13 Year is a Japan-only release of some well-aged Kentucky bourbon that was sourced by Willett. It was initially released in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of distilling bourbon in Bardstown, Kentucky, although it was not a one-time release. This bottle seems to have been bottled in 1995, based on the “95” stamp on the bottle. Think about that for a moment, that means that all the bourbon in the bottle was distilled in or before 1982. My mind is blown even thinking about that.
Whisky Auctioneer has an excellent overview of this bottle and Willett’s history, so I highly recommend that you check it out too.
Long story short though, Willett in the 80s and 90s was famous for sourcing bourbon, and they bottled some legendary brands such as Olde St. Nick and Black Maple Hill. They also bottled some brands that are on shelves today, such as Johnnie Drum and Noah’s Mill. And as was normal in the 80’s and 90’s for many Kentucky distilleries and brands, Willett sold a lot of older bourbon to Japan where it was popular…and it wasn’t in the United States. What a crazy time.
But times have changed. Bourbon is still somewhat popular in Japan, but now it’s crazy popular in the US (you already know that). While Willett does source some whiskeys and ages some that were sourced years ago, Willett distills and ages a lot of what it sells now.
I also highly doubt that Willett has any barrels left (they might have a few) from the early 80’s that could have been bottled into Old Kentucky. If they do, then those have been aging for over 40+ years.
Anyways, let’s taste from a time capsule of Willett’s history in this Old Kentucky 13 Year bourbon review.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 smell
I initially smell caramel chews, dried apricot and cherry, old wood with a little bit of freshly cut wood, gentle cinnamon, orange peel, vanilla with a hint of funk, strawberry, and a little bit of fennel. Old Kentucky 13 Year is a rich, calm, expressive, and mature bourbon that carries itself in a way that no modern bourbon I’ve ever had has.
Unlike 12-13 year old bourbons made today, the oak isn’t that brash and forward. It’s more subdued in a way that enhances the fruitiness instead of fighting it for attention. While Old Kentucky so far is deeply sweet and fruity with great oakiness, it doesn’t have as much fullness and oomph as I’d like. The 47% ABV feels a lot less rich than the 50.5% did in Wild Turkey 12 Year 1991.
On top of that, this isn’t as oaky as Wild Turkey 12 Year CGF either. Old Kentucky is way more fruit-forward.
After swirling and rest…oh wow it smells so much better now. There’s vibrant yet dark butterscotch, vanilla frosting, dried apricot, candied orange peel, old oak, refined cinnamon, fennel, and a little tobacco and chocolate fudge. It’s like a rich fruit cobbler with very dense honey and butterscotch heaped onto it.
I don’t know what happened, but this has come alive and the scents are sprinting out of the glass. It’s not super round and hefty, but it’s very vibrant, rich, expressive, and captivating. Old Kentucky 13 Year is also not all that woody, oaky, or spicy, which still feels surprising for a 13 year old bourbon…because it doesn’t feel like one (in an amazing way of course). Damn this smells incredible.
Old Kentucky 13 Year is amazing and unique. The closest modern comparison I can think of is Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond, which is the very toned down version of this.
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 taste and aftertaste
The flavors have rich honey, vibrant cherry and dried apricot, vanilla beans, refined roasted oak and cinnamon, a little bit of tobacco, dark chocolate fudge, orange, and fennel. This vibrant and shimmery feeling kicks in a few seconds into the sip.
The fruit and oak have incredible vibrance and richness, but at the same time the ABV takes away from the overall roundness. This would have been an epic powerhouse at 55% ABV, but they decided not to do that…which is unfortunate.
Even though Old Kentucky is 13 years old, this is not the oak bomb that 1991 Wild Turkey 12 Year CGF is (even though Old Kentucky is 1 year older), but it still has enough old and mature oak to remind me that this is a well-aged bourbon. This is more inline with what I’ve experienced with Blanton’s and Wild Turkey 8 Year – more fruit-forward with beautiful oak to support the entire experience.
This tastes amazing, but it’s not a big and burly bourbon.
After “chewing”, I taste rich and vibrant honey, shimmery cherry and candied orange peel, vanilla, preserved lemon, shimmery old oak and cinnamon, and a little bit of vanilla funk and herbal fennel. It has a key lime pie vibe, but with extra dark sweetness and more varied sweet fruits thrown in there.
Wow, this is a totally different experience from the first time.
Old Kentucky 13 Year explodes with delicious fruitiness, an amazing shimmery thing, and then refined and very pleasing oak and spice that bring some darkness and also contrast the fruitiness. Unlike 13+ year old bourbons of today, there’s no intense roastiness, spice, or earthiness. It’s so dang refined and controlled, letting the fruitiness and sweetness prance all over the place.
Again, the 47% ABV is more apparent with the low-end heft and fullness, but overall it’s an incredibly delicious bourbon. It is all sorts of vibrant, complex, and captivating.
The finish leaves honey, vibrant orange + cherry + apricot, vanilla, old oak, and cinnamon with lingering old oak, cinnamon, orange peel, and cherry. After a few minutes, there’s still lingering and very pleasant fruit peel and old oak.
After “chewing”, the aftertaste has shimmery honey, cherry, lime, mature oak, cinnamon, and dried fennel with lingering old oak, dried lime peel, and cinnamon.
You and a friend could put a huge dent in this bottle in one sitting. It’s incredibly approachable and friendly, yet complex, rich, and interesting. Then you might go shit…we just drank half the bottle and I’m not going to be able to replace it…oh well…it’s worth it.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Old Kentucky 13 Year 2005 Rating
As I smelled and tasted through this the first time around, I was a little concerned that this wasn’t going to be as incredible as I expected…to thankfully be blown away after swirling and “chewing”. I don’t know what happened, but the experience was completely transformed into something glorious, delectable, and unforgettable.
Drinking this re-reminds me that dusty bourbon has all sorts of personalities. 1991 Wild Turkey 12 Year is a refined and dark oak bomb, Willet’s own 2006 Pure Kentucky is a date / dried fig bomb, and this 1995 Old Kentucky 13 Year is bright, vibrant, and fruity with supporting oakiness that rounds out the whole experience. Regardless, they’re all joys to drink and I’m lucky to have this bottle.
The important thing to keep in mind is that age statements from decades past are a bit misleading. The meaning is still the same – the minimum age of all the whiskey in the bottle, but it doesn’t capture any more detail about older whiskey in the blend. Bourbons from decades past are known to have a lot more older components in the blend because they had a lot of it lying around and needed to bottle it before it became overoaked.
Wild Turkey 12 Years from the late 80’s and early 90’s are speculated / known (depending on who you ask) to have a lot of 15+ year old bourbon in the blend, but I don’t think anyone has any idea with Old Kentucky. That could explain why Wild Turkey CGF is so much darker and woody, but I still suspect that there’s a lot of 14+ year old bourbon in Old Kentucky.
It blows my mind that this 13 year old bourbon (no idea how much even older bourbon might be in there) isn’t so intensely oaky. There’s still a noticeable roasty, woody, and tobacco-y presence, but it accents the fruitiness and elevates the whole thing, instead of shoving everything out of the way to steal the show. I can’t think of a single 12+ year old bourbon that is this remotely fruit-forward and oak-subdued.
Modern bourbons this old, even the great ones, are so heavy-handed with the roasty, woody, and spicy notes that it tires me out. I enjoy the heck out of the Hardin’s Creek 17 Year bourbons, but they’re so “loudly” oaky that if I have one, I then want something different afterwards.
Old Willett bourbons are now 2 for 2 with me while modern Purple Tops are 0 for 2, as much as I want to adore them. There are no definitive takeaways from that, but it suggests to me that 1) modern bourbon generally doesn’t come close to the old stuff, and 2) modern Willett bourbon so far doesn’t do it for me. And charging $400+ for 8-10 year old home-distilled bourbon (or rye for that matter)…doesn’t make any sense. How the hell are they getting away with this?
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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