BlimpsGo90
Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
July 11, 2020 (edited August 22, 2020)
Neat. Neck pour. Super excited to get this bottle today. Big fan of the Cornerstone and Rare Breed brand in general.
Nose is more subtle than I was expecting. Salty rye bread. The salt coming off this is surprising. There is a nice vibrant orange mixed with a hint of vanilla. Honestly the nose is a bit disappointing. It’s very inviting, no hint of the high proof, very crisp, but not very interesting.
Texture is not quite creamy but not watery either. Like a light oil that thins out when it hits your mouth. Wow, this packs so much flavor. I wasn’t expecting that off the nose. On the tongue, it is very subtle with a hint of cinnamon and just a hint of sweetness. But it transitions into a beautiful vanilla with a hint of that orange. Rye spice then comes in a wave and leaves this nice sweet oak on the medium finish. Hard to believe this is 112 proof, drinks like 95.
The taste really saved this one. The flavors from the nose to taste translated well but they were so subtle on the nose I wasn’t expecting them to pop like they did on the taste. This is a really good rye. I do not think this Rare Breed is as essential to the rye category as the bourbon is to the bourbon category.
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@BlimpsGo90 Yeah Pikesville is $50 and WT Rare Breed Rye is $60 in NC. A couple other comparisons I thought of are Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye and Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye, both are between $60-65 in NC. I haven't had either but they're in the proof range.
@Zachary-Robbins I need to review the Pikesville again. Off memory, the Pikesville is much sweeter and brighter than the Rare Breed Rye. Many of the flavors are similar though. Pretty sure I gave them both the same rating. If you were choosing to buy either one, I think the price leans me towards Pikesville. Rare Breed cost me $59.99 in Ohio. If it was $40-$45 like Rare Breed Bourbon, it would be an easier recommend. But it isn’t 20% better than Pikesville for 20% more in price.
@BlimpsGo90 I got this the other day with my brother and agree it's a very good rye. What I wish I had on hand was Pikesville for comparison. Almost the same abv, I believe the same mashbill, and $10 cheaper in NC. I really like the WT Rare Breed Rye so far but it may not be much different from Pikesville based on my memory.
Doing a quick comparison to Cornerstone, Rare Breed Rye isn’t even close. Some of the flavors rhyme, nut the Rare Breed Rye mostly comes across as musty compared to its Master Keep counterpart. It makes Cornerstone more special by comparison.