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Maker's Mark vs Russell’s Reserve 15 Year
Maker's Mark and Russell’s Reserve 15 Year sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, wheat-forward classic versus an undiluted barrel-strength pour.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Maker's Mark | Russell’s Reserve 15 Year |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Wheated Bourbon | Traditional Bourbon, Barrel Proof |
| Mash Bill 1 | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 15 years |
| Proof | 90 proof (45% ABV) | 117.2 proof (58.6% ABV) +27 proof |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$25 – $32 ~$297 less | ~$250 – $400 |
| Availability | Widely available easier to find | Allocated |
- Russell’s Reserve 15 Year does not publish an official mash bill.
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Maker's Mark
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Russell’s Reserve 15 Year
One of my favorites.
Flavor Profile
Maker's Mark Russell’s Reserve 15 Year
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
oak 4/9 oak: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 9 out of 10
spice 2/6 spice: Maker's Mark 2 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 6 out of 10
heat 3/7 heat: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 7 out of 10
fruit 4/6 fruit: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 6 out of 10
sweetness 8/7 sweetness: Maker's Mark 8 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 7 out of 10
nuttiness 3/3 nuttiness: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, Russell’s Reserve 15 Year 3 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Oak is doing most of the differentiating here.
- Maker's Mark: The bottle that made wheated bourbon mainstream. Soft, sweet, and deliberately low on spice and oak, with baked bread and honey doing most of the work. Consistency is its real feature.
- Russell’s Reserve 15 Year: The oldest regular Russell's Reserve, at barrel proof. Fifteen years in Camp Nelson rickhouses push it toward old oak, leather and dried fruit over the usual Turkey spice.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Maker's Mark if you want a reliably sweet, low-spice wheater that is easy to find and easy to drink at a significantly lower price point.
- Go with Russell’s Reserve 15 Year if you want a very old, oak-heavy Wild Turkey for slow sipping with significantly more proof behind it and with the texture that comes from skipping chill filtration.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, cocktails, highball (Maker's Mark); neat (Russell’s Reserve 15 Year).