Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye

Split purchase with my brother, open since end of June. I'm slowly getting more into ryes, barely legal rye mashbills mostly because I'm not a fan of MGP ryes. This new release seemed like the perfect split with my brother since I love Wild Turkey and he loves ryes. Big mint, black pepper, semi-sweet honey, rye spice, and ethanol on the nose. This overpowers the citrus peel and burnt caramel I get after a few sniffs. It smells a lot hotter than its proof. Rye spice, mint, citrus peel, and black pepper are the dominant notes on the tongue. I get hints of chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, anise, nuts, and baking spices. However, the finish overwhelms the initial taste with huge oak, rye, and black pepper flavors. It is a long finish that really mutes all other notes. On the back end the lasting tingle on my tongue is mint, it really lingers. This is a great addition to the shelves, and I think it is a solid price for a barrel proof rye. However, ever since this was released all I could think of is how this stacks up to Pikesville. Almost the exact same mashbill and proof, while Pikesville is $10 less. Personally, I enjoyed the Pikesville more because it tasted more like a high rye bourbon with stronger oak and sugary notes. Unlike Pikesville, the WT Rare Breed Rye is heavy on the mint and black pepper. It doesn't feature as much eucalyptus and licorice as MGP ryes, but it has more of those notes than I expected for a 52% rye mashbill. Still, this is a really good whiskey and I'm sure a lot of people will rate this higher than I have.

Check out my video review here https://youtu.be/RMbI2UT84OA .

Really tasty. I’m getting lots of sweet oolong black tea and heavy oak in the flavor profile. Delightfully intense.

Smoother than most ryes I’ve had. A little spicy heat on the back, but nothing overpowering.

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.