Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye

Wow. This is a magical unicorn juggernaut. A rich nose of apricots, caramelized peaches, burnt sugar, and oak. Sweet, tropical notes on the initial sip with apricots, papaya, and almost like a fruit punch fruit roll up. As close to perfection as one can get.

On the nose I get leather, licorice, mint and sweet fruits. The pallet I found cinnamon, tobacco, sweet fruits, and an ultra long finish. Wild turkey has a winner with this one.

So today is when I learned that Rare Breed is actually different each year, to include purposefully new labels and/or bottles. I always thought it was just vintage bottles I was seeing around. It's no surprise that Wild Turkey makes a pretty great rye, if you've had it, that is, since the bourbon does a solid job of delivering high rye flavor. However, I only ever got their rye when I could find the 101 version, which was getting harder and harder to hunt for. When I did have it, I savored that extra kick from the proof, and, for some reason, not even once did I consider or crave a proof higher than that. But now, what was once contentment has turned into excitement to dig into what's not even that much more proof to see what we can find. Firstly, the color is awesome, and since I know the age isn't that high, this just shows a great testament to a distillery's commitment of level 4 char and true barrel proof products. The scent has familiar freshly cracked rye and cinnamon, but I'm also getting vanilla and caramel, but as if it were "toasted" a bit. The proof does come up a little bit for a burn, but nothing crazy. Wow, a fantastic palate that delivers a bit of sweetness, like caramel popcorn, on a body that drinks like a Speyside Scotch. However, don't let that comment let you think that this is void of true rye, because it certainly comes through as mellowed cinnamon and grass. The finish is both long and short, with the long bit being the familiar mouth coating from high quality ryes, but short on any actual flavors past the above. This product does a great job of combining a good rye whiskey base flavor and blending it with the caramel, vanilla, and other classic oak flavors from Wild Turkey's flagship bourbon. I'm honestly surprised that this wasn't just a more potent version of the 101 Rye, but I'm also glad that it has it's own differences, so I can continue supporting them.

It’s been a while since I felt the world needed another rye option, but this Turkey’s balance of cream, pepper and clove might just convince me that there’s room for another bottle on your shelf. Drink it at its unadulterated barrel proof if your tastes lean towards spice or add a dash of water to accentuate the creamy notes and bring out a sweeter finish. The nose doesn’t have the crackling pepper of last year’s Master’s Keep Cornerstone, but there’s no reason to swoop on those dust-gathering bottles if you can find this much cheaper option.