Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye

Rare Breed Rye Vs 81 Rye:

The nose on 81 is less concentrated. Much like 101, 81 is sweeter in presentation and obviously Rare Breed Rye has much more burn due to the 30 point proof difference.

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Russells Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Average Price:$82

The Whiskey:

This is a high water mark of what standard Wild Turkey can achieve. The Russells select the honey barrels from their rickhouses for single barrel bottling. The resulting whiskey is non-chill filtered but is cut down slightly to proof with that soft Kentucky water.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla cream spiked with orange oils and sprinkled with toasted coconut mingle with spicy oak and buttery cake on the nose with an underpinning of winter spices by way of a sour mulled wine. The palate opens with easy notes of marzipan, subtle dried roses, vanilla pods, more winter spices, and singed cherry bark. The end arrives with a sense of Almond Joy next to cherry tobacco dipped in chili-infused dark chocolate with a flake of salt and pinch of cedar dust and old leather saddles.

Bottom Line:

This is another winner from Wild Turkey. Theres a great balance here that runs deep. This makes a mean cocktail or easy sipper at the end of the day.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye

Rare Breed Rye

Finally some good news for 2020: Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye has hit shelves! Granted, the release is very limited at first so we had to do some extra work to get our hands on a bottle, but its here and were sipping. Talk about a release that has been very highly anticipated by folks in the Wild Turkey fan clubfan flock? Enough dad jokes. Lets have a look!

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Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

Average Price:$20

The Whiskey:

Wild Turkey 101 starts with Turkeys classic 75/13/12 mash bill. The hot juice then spends at least six years in the cask before its batched and just kissed with Kentucky limestone water before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

This is a cherry bomb on the nose with deep notes of burnt orange, buttery toffee, old oak staves, and cumin-heavy taco seasoning with a hint of old leather gloves. The palate has a vanilla pudding cup vibe next to butterscotch candies, nougat, and a twinge of menthol tobacco on the mid-palate. The end of this is a classic cascade of bourbon notes: caramel, vanilla, cherry, winter spice, and light woodiness.

Bottom Line:

This has no business being as good as it is at this price point. This remains one of the best values in all of bourbon whiskey because it is versatile. You can mix it, stir it, shoot it, and pour it over some rocks and it will work every time.

Russells Reserve Single Barrel Rye

Average Price:$70

The Whiskey:

This hand-selected single-barrel expression hits on some pretty big classic Kentucky rye notes. The whiskey for the blend is selected from the center cuts of the third through fifth floors of the Wild Turkey rickhouses. Theres no chill filtering and the expression is only slightly touched by water before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

This has a lighter nose but its still full of dark orchard fruits, soft vanilla pods, old oak staves with a hint of old barrel house funk, and a mix of spicy orange rind next to freshly cracked black pepper and sharp cinnamon powder. The palate leans into the cinnamon and layers it into chewy and buzzy tobacco with hints of vanilla sweetness, cherry bark woodiness, and sharp fancy root beer vibes. The end pings on that old musty rickhouse one more time as a humidor full of vanilla, cherry, and cinnamon-spiced tobacco fades towards a rich and buttery toffee with a hint of rye fennel on the very backend.

Bottom Line:

Were squarely into the great whiskeys here. This is a very easy sipper that makes a mean Manhattan or Vieux Carre. Its deep but fun to play with in cocktails.

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Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye Rating

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye smells and tastes quite good, providing a well-balanced and enjoyable experience thats primarily sweet and herbal, and less vegetal and earthy.

The downside is that it doesnt stand out in any way and as the list of very good to exceptional rye whiskey grows, Rare Breed Rye will likely get lost in the shuffle, although the Wild Turkey name will always grab peoples attention.

This is a solid rye whiskey with a household name, and maybe thats good enough. Honestly, I really expected more from this rye given how much I like Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon.

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Whiskey Review: Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye Whiskey

In the past, I havent really been enamored with the bottles coming out of Wild Turkey. Its not terrible, but there are so many better options in the market, its hard to justify spending any money on this brand. That sais, it does seem like they are trying to make a move out of the budget end space thank not only to their Matthew McConaughey backed Longbranch, but also this barrel proof expression of their rye aimed directly at that mid-tier market.

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Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel

Average Price:$79

The Whiskey:

Jimmy Russell hand selects eight to nine-year-old barrels from his warehouses for their individual taste and quality. Those barrels are then cut down ever-so-slightly to 101 proof and bottled one at a time with their barrel number and warehouse location right on the bottle.

Tasting Notes:

The nose draws you in with classic vibes from top to bottom thanks to rich vanilla smoothness, wintry spices, a hint of cedar, and a mix of sour cherry and tart apple with a slight lawn furniture earthiness. The palate stays very classic with old boot leather next to dry cedar bark, a layer of rich marzipan cut with orange oils and covered in dark chocolate, and a distant hint of nasturtiums suspended in fresh honey. The end finishes with a good hint of spiced cherry tobacco and old leather next to mild nuttiness, bitter chocolate, and soft vanilla cake frosted with cinnamon and cherry.

Bottom Line:

This should really be number one thanks to that price tag. This is an unbeatable single-barrel expression of whiskey .

Rare Breed Bourbon Is The Sits On Top Of The Pecking Order

• The Rare Breed Rye is a good within its category but the Rare Breed Bourbon is the best Wild Turkey whiskey and one of the best bourbons you can buy today.

• Its moderately warm but it drinks incredibly nicely, with rich vanilla and butterscotch notes perfectly balanced against oak and leather.

• Not to mention a thick creamy body that keeps you coming back for more.

• The Rare Breed Bourbon is a pour that I cant recommend enough!

• Im yet to entirely like Wild Turkeys rye whiskeys as the signature oak char note along the rye spice hit can be overwhelming at times.

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Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye

Average Price:$72

The Whiskey:

This rye is a blend of the great rye barrels in the Wild Turkey rickhouses. The juice is chosen from four, six, and eight-year-old barrels, blended, then bottled without chill filtration or any proofing water.

Tasting Notes:

This is a masterclass in what rye spice can be with subtle notes of black pepper next to Christmas spices counterpointed by pine resin dank and sweet cherry root beer. The palate brings about a velvet texture with notes of vanilla and dark chocolate cake next to stewed cherries a very Black Forest cake vibe before the rye sourdough bread funk and herbal essence kick in with a light firewood pitchiness. By the end, theres a balance of all that spice, wood, resin, and subtle fruitiness that lasts on the long and sharp finish.

Bottom Line:

This is pretty essential rye whiskey for expanding your palate. Its also super easy to drink while being one of the better cocktail base whiskeys on this list. You should be making all of your Manhattans and old fashioneds with this.

Wild Turkey Masters Keep Cornerstone

Average Price:$499

The Whiskey:

This is the first rye whiskey that Wild Turkey released for the Masters Keep line. Eddie Russell devised this whiskey from nine to 11-year-old barrels from the prime sections of various rickhouses. Once batched, the whiskey was just proofed before bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Theres a sense of apple old-fashioned doughnuts on the nose with a cinnamon-maple glaze next to old rye bread crusts with caraway and fennel with a slight whisper of dry dill before a whisper of white pepper and dried chili starts to sneak in. Salted apple chips dipped in floral honey drive the palate toward sour mulled wine full of star anise, clove, cardamom, and mace with a dash of molasses and rum-raisin. The end leans into the woodiness of the spices with cinnamon bark and allspice berries with the faintest line of sasparilla and black licorice-laced tobacco braided with old wicker canes.

Bottom Line:

This is the height of Wild Turkeys straight rye experience. That helped it climb the ranks significantly, sure. But this rye is one of the best you can find today. Its everything you want it to be plus so much more. Its a true journey in a bottle.

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Wild Turkey Masters Keep Unforgotten

Average Price:$225

The Whiskey:

The latest Master Keep release is a whiskey born from a crew member accidentally adding some young rye into old bourbon in the batching tank. Everything came to a screeching halt. Once the whiskey was tasted, though, Eddie Rusell realized they had a happy accident on their hands and their first blend of rye and bourbon was born. Today, this blend is a mix of eight and nine-year-old rye with 13-year-old bourbon thats then finished in a used rye barrel in Turkeys pre-Prohibition Rickhouse B.

Tasting Notes:

The whiskey opens with a lush and vibrant fruit orchard full of bright and ripe oranges, tart apples, and sweet peaches next to roasted almonds, salted caramel, and creamed honey with a touch of hickory and pine. Theres a sense of that salted caramel sweetness on the palate that leads to mince meat pies dusted in powdered sugar and nutmeg with a hint of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, old oak staves, and dried sage .. and maybe some spearmint. The end has a dried apricot and prunes vibe next to floral honey cut with orange oils, a twinge of marzipan, and more of that bitter dark chocolate tied to pipe tobacco, cedar boxes, and old pepper mills that are more woody than spicy.

Bottom Line:

This is just delicious. Its funky and fresh and feels like one of the best bottles Wild Turkey has to offer.

Wild Turkey Masters Keep Bottled In Bond

Average Price:$899

The Whiskey:

This is the same whiskey as Masters Keep 17-Year. In this case, after vatting of minimum 17-year-old barrels, the whiskey was only proofed down to 50% or 100-proof for bottling as per bottled in bond laws. The resulting whiskey is then bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Theres a bold nose of spicy Christmas cakes spiked with orange oils, candied cherries, and dried apples next to vanilla pods and worn saddle leather that leads to this subtle hint of fresh cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese frosting cut with lemon and vanilla. The palate is the epitome of smoothness with a subtle warmth derived from woody winter spices star anise, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon that then branches toward this whisper of burnt sugars and fats from an old brisket smoker with a hint of salted red taffy and singed marshmallow next to vanilla pound cake with a hint of poppy seeds. The end has a sweet cinnamon candy flourish before smoldering wild sage and old boots arrive with a dark chocolate espresso cherry tobacco layers into an old cedar box with a hint of black dirt lurking in the distant background.

Bottom Line:

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Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Bourbon

Average Price:$54

The Whiskey:

This is the mountaintop of what the main line of Wild Turkey can achieve . This is a blend of the prime barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic Turkey bourbon with nowhere to hide.

Tasting Notes:

This opens like a dessert table during the holidays with crème brûlée next to a big sticky toffee pudding with orange zest sprinkled over the top next to a bushel of fresh mint. The palate hits an early note of pine resin as the orange kicks up towards a bold wintry spice, soft vanilla cream, and a hint of honeyed cherry tobacco. The end keeps the winter spices front and center as a lush pound cake feeling leads to soft notes of cherry-spiced tobacco leaves folded into an old cedar box with a whisper of old vanilla pods lurking in the background.

Bottom Line:

This is another bottle that has no business being this good at this price point, making it truly one of the great value-per-dollar whiskeys on the shelf today. While its a very easy sipper, it also makes a killer cocktail.

Wild Turkey Masters Keep One

Average Price:$304

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a blend of Jimmy and Eddie Russells favorite barrels. Jimmy chose nine to 10-year-old barrels and Eddie added in 14-year-old barrels of their classic bourbon. Once batched, that whiskey was then re-barreled into new oak with a special toast and char level and then stored in a timber rickhouse called Tyrone G .

Tasting Notes:

Cinnamon-infused caramel candies mingle with creamed honey and old slices of vanilla cake with an orange-clove-chocolate frosting next to old tobacco leaves and a touch of dried chili pepper flakes on the nose. The palate opens with a creamy and lush vanilla foundation that leads to salted caramel over apple cake with a cutting ginger and cinnamon spiciness next to a light touch of dried nasturtiums. The end starts sweet and spiced with a mouthful of Hot Tamales before old cherry-choco tobacco folds into an old pine box with a hint of singed cinnamon bark and cherry wood mellow with old boot leather and broken-down lawn furniture.

Bottom Line:

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Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye Smell

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye starts off with white sugar, pineapple, citrus, licorice, and anise followed by fennel, rosemary, thyme, roasted oak, cinnamon, vanilla, and just a little bright strawberry shortcake. At times, parts of it come together like pineapple drizzled in orange syrup, a fragrant addition.

After swirling, I smell candied pineapple, citrus, licorice, and anise with darker honey, fennel, caraway seed, roasted oak, toasted vanilla, and some rosemary and thyme earthiness, as well as a little bit of strawberry fields dessert. The brighter fruitiness, tropical character, and pineapple-forward traits remind me a lot of Kooper Family Rye, also a nice-smelling rye whiskey.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye Taste & Aftertaste

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye is loaded with citrus, licorice, pineapple, honey, and anise followed by lighter roasted oak, cinnamon, thyme, and fennel with some caraway seed rye breadiness. It starts sweet followed by a small surge of herbal and vegetal notes, with the oak remaining generally subdued. That combination of flavors and oak presence makes me think that this is about 5-6 years old.

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Wild Turkey Masters Keep Revival

Average Price:$329

The Whiskey:

This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell after he found a few prime sherry casks in Jerez, Spain. The blend is a mix of 12 to 15-year-old bourbon barrels that once vatted were re-barreled into those Oloroso sherry casks for final maturation. Finally, those barrels were batched, proofed with a touch of water, and bottled as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Theres a sense of orange oils layered into an old pine plank on the nose with a spiced cherry pie drizzled with powdered sugar icing and dark powdered sugar next to a hint of meaty and almost waxy prunes. The palate has a soft vanilla pudding vibe next to grilled pineapple and peaches with a hint of passion fruit and mango skins before dates and raisins kick in with plenty of winter spice, creating a tropical cocktail vibe almost. The end is spiced like a holiday cake clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. with a sense of pineapple-heavy Hawaiian dinner rolls and spiced choco-cherry tobacco leaves.

Bottom Line:

This is the one rare miss in the Masters Keep line, in my humble opinion. Its not overly sherried and falls more toward bright and fresh fruitiness. Just to be clear, this isnt a bad or faulty whiskey at all. The opposite is true, its refined and nuanced. Its just not quite delivering on the promise of the label , and hence its ranked this low.