Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

Among the old breed of rye whiskey fans, the folks that predate the Rye Craze of 2011-12, Wild Turkey’s rye holds a special place. Even though it has always been a Kentucky rye, in that era when sourced brands based on MGP’s 95% rye were only just becoming known, Wild Turkey 101 Rye was the bold and full-bodied favorite. The aforementioned craze hit WT Rye particularly hard, causing the company to pull it off store shelves from 2012 to 2014.

Now that flavor, so potent at 101 proof, has been given a cask strength expression in the form of Rare Breed Rye. My bottle came out at 112.2 proof, and it’s a mix of 4, 6 and 8 year old stock. Rare Breed Rye is something the old guard has been craving for many years, which raises the standard question: was all the waiting worth it?

The Whiskey
A pour of this whiskey has a solid copper look to it, while the nose leads spicy, with pumpernickel rye and a pinch of pepper, but balanced by oodles of caramel and a little orange zest.

The flavor follows from there: pumpernickel and a trace of white pepper hand-in-hand with Constant Comment tea, a tablespoon’s worth of brown sugar and vanilla. The finish, however, walks off stage with full rye whiskey regalia; it’s spicy, woody and lasting.

This is a big bodied, but pretty straightforward whiskey, so it is exactly what that old guard I mentioned want. This is what they always loved Wild Turkey Rye 101 for, and now they can have it with a +11.2 proof added on.

The Price
A bottle of Rare Breed Rye will set you back $60.