Ask any random group of whiskey enthusiasts which barrel-proof bourbon is their favorite and you’re bound to hear Wild Turkey Rare Breed. Impressive, considering popular names like Booker’s, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, and Stagg Jr. It wasn’t always this way. Sure, Wild Turkey has long held its devoted fans and supporters, but a bulk of the bourbon-crazed population has only recently opened their minds (and wallets) to Lawrenceburg’s Finest. This is largely due to the attention granted by a new wave of next-generation whiskey YouTubers, podcasters, and social media influencers. I hesitate to say bloggers, as blogging almost seems like a dying art in the modern-day bourbon-sphere. Save for a small few, most of the whiskey bloggers I “grew up with” are gone. At least, they’re no longer writing about whiskey regularly.

Nose: ( rich, robust) English toffee, flame-toasted caramel, heavily steeped herbal tea, orange peel, charred oak, nutmeg, hints of clove & cinnamon

Rare Breed Rye also takes things a step further by not chill filtering (NCF) the liquid. This is something that not even the US version of Rare Breed Bourbon can claim. If you’re unfamiliar with chill filtering, it’s the act of passing the whiskey through a media (sometimes silk or paper filters, sometimes a layer of fine charcoal) after chilling it down to 40 degrees or less. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. We may sell, license, transfer, assign or in any other way dispose of the Service (including Members) to any third party without any notification to you, e.g. (but without limitation) in connection with any reorganization, restructuring, merger or sale, or other transfer of assets. Wild Turkey uses a single mashbill for all of their bourbons, and bottles Rare Breed at barrel proof. Wild Turkey’s barrel entry proof (the proof the distillate enters the barrel for aging) is relatively low at 107 to 115, up from 105 at one time, resulting in a low bottling proof by comparison to competitors’ barrel proof products which typically go in at the maximum allowable 125 proof.

Taste: ( vibrant, lively) tart vanilla, red fruit, caramel/candy apple, charred oak, orange peel, herbal spice, brown sugar, lemon-cherry Crafted in one of the few distilleries to remain dedicated to the art of rye whiskey, Rare Breed Rye is a blend of non-chill filtered rye. It is barrel-proof, meaning that it’s uncut, bottled directly from the barrels at the proof it is reached in those barrels. It is sister to award-winning Rare Breed bourbon and the first permanent super-premium rye in the Wild Turkey family.” Finish: long, warm & flavorful – vanilla bean, apple-cinnamon, fruit-infused maple syrup, oak char, blood orange, singed lemon peel, hints of sassafras & leather The first two were young, chill-filtered and proofed way down. The latter was a single barrel version which always had to be bottled at the same proof. It’s no mystery why Wild Turkey didn’t have a strong rye whiskey market presence – Jimmy Russell is on the record many times saying how he didn’t care about making it. Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye Whiskey Please just write on the label about that (hazy or cloudy if chilled or served with ice) and let us have only the water as the alteration of whiskey.The barrel composition is said to be a mix of 6, 8 and 12 year old barrels. Modern batches of Rare Breed are about the same ages but taste wildly different – as in not that old. Nose: Initial note of deep dark chocolate fudge. Concentrated caramel-y oak, root beer, butterscotch. The sweet notes are balanced by a robust dry oakiness. Have you had the Wild Turkey Rare Breed? If so add your own thoughts in the comments below. Wild Turkey Rare Breed Review Yet, it haunts me. Is there a difference – even if slight – between 2020 and 2021 Rare Breed? There’s only one way to know for certain and that requires a side-by-side tasting. But, before I get to that (don’t worry, it’s coming), perhaps it’s best I share my impression of 2021’s Rare Breed 116.8 on its own. That way, distilleries don’t have to employ former NASA engineers and could cut costs by hiring the same engineers that designed the Ford 6.0L diesel. The third method may be that Wild Turkey combines multiple barrels together into one barrel after maturation is complete. Then they test the total proof and add water into the barrel as needed to lower it down to 112.2.

Everyone tastes things differently and I figured I just needed more experience with them. Maybe that would help acclimate my tongue to begin to like old Wild Turkey flavors. Wild Turkey Rare Breed (2020) – 116.8-proof KSBW – reportedly a blend of six-, eight-, and twelve-year, barrel-proof bourbon – distilled and bottled by the Wild Turkey Distilling Co., Lawrenceburg, KYOne more thing before we move on to the tasting notes. I know there is sometimes a lot of confusion as to how Rare Breed Rye (and the bourbon) can be continuously bottled at the same proof for many years in a row and still be called “barrel proof.”

Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”).All of the fruits are dried, concentrated and feel like they have a small layer of dust on them. The sensation of richness is evident throughout and the sweetness was perfectly balanced – not too sweet but sweet enough. Delivery is available in: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NH, NV, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY