Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Barrel Proof, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 112.8 proof, 56.4% abv.

WT Rare Breed is a blend of 6, 8, and 12 year old juice bottled at barrel proof. The mashbill, which is supposedly the same for all WT products, is 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley. The series started in 1991 and used to indicate a batch number, but nowadays only shows the proof.

Nose: bbq honey, sweet, apple juice, some vanilla. Adding some water emphasizes the burnt crust of creme brulee, but mellows most aromas, still stronger than most ryes.

Palate: decent body, extremely flavorful, initial palate was sweet honey, some wood, rye spice, mid palate spicey, wood, major peanut husk (peanut skin), some maple syrup, back palate has whisky rye spice, major wood, light honey. Adding water makes it more sweet.

Finish: medium, wood scented molasses, wood bark.

Another excellent bourbon, sweet, special intense flavors, and general rye spiciness. I felt it was more of a rye whiskey than a bourbon to be honest, but my experience with ryes isn't exactly abundant. Flavors were clear and neat, and with water was amazingly potent. Going to be conservative here.

Grade: B

Whiskyanalysis.com, 8.71 ± 0.29 on 20 reviews, no proof stated
Whiskyfun.com, Serge, sgp:630, 85 points for 2015 bottling
Thewhiskeywash, Jordan Morris, 89/100
Breakingbourbon, Nick, 3/5

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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