Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Bourbon

Pretty basic. Nothing special

Sweet and fruity with a quickly building fire leading to a mouth filling caramel and then the heat returns for the finish

Nose: Brown sugar, barrel, vanilla. Honey, slight floral and citrus note - reminds me of the navel orange tree in my backyard when the blossoms come out. Peppermint ice cream. Camphor. Nutmeg, clove, cooked apples. Palate: Woah - classic bourbon, but some added and intensified layers. Brown sugar, oak, char, and vanilla are in here. Tannin shows up big-time in the texture. The baking spices noted on the nose are coming forward - can absolutely tell there's a good dose of rye in this mash. Black pepper, slightly vegetal. Very appealing. This doesn't present as 116.8 until you get about 2/3 into the sip and then you start getting some of the heat. Medium mouthfeel. The finish begins with a nice swell of barrel bitter, ethanol, brown sugar, vanilla, and orange blossoms. The ethanol fades and the sweetness subsides, letting the barrel, floral, and vanilla characters to come up. As it fades, you get some dill notes alongside the barrel notes. Other notes: I was excited for this one - the Russels know what they're doing. I haven't been disappointed by a single thing they've done, and the profile here lives up to my expectations. You can tell it's Wild Turkey, just a little more rowdy. I will absolutely look to buy a bottle of this again.

Happy overall with flavor profile. Big opening, warm hit of high proof infused wood and warm tones, lingering finish of bitter chocolate and the hint of cedar. Sip neat or chill bottle before serving.

Being shut in(oh not really) isn't all bad, more time to take tasting some great bourbon, and that's exactly what Rare Breed the barrel proof Wild Turkey, is, great bourbon. If you like Wild Turkey, and esp. the 101, then you already know the great things Jimmy Russell is doing here, but if you are a hard core barrel proof aficionado, you won't want to pass this up. The front page notes are accurate, rich sweetness of caramel honey and char wood that remains amazingly smooth all the way down. At 116p you know something was done right just to get this far. This is some marvelous straight drinking that requires no water even if you wouldn't feel like a noob for adding some just to tune it down a bit. The nose may be a bit understated but who really cares when the loads of richness and sweet heat are so well balanced with some red hots and rye spices just to round it all out. I could go on all day about why this is a real treat but just know if you are a bourbonir you are going to NEED to try this. With the bourbon boom pushing a lot of noise and half baked product to the front of the market it's reassuring that there are some master craftsman still plying the trade at the old venerable institutes that are responsible for the existence of one of our favorite things. Cheers!