Wild Turkey Rare Breed
History:
Wild Turkey is distilled near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky (USA) The produce a few variants within there bourbon line (6 in total, 4 of which are available in Australia). Wild Turkey, Wild Turkey 101 and Wild Turkey Rare Breed, (each being aged longer and bottled at a higher proof); the other variant is a Honey flavoured Bourbon liqueur.
The original distillery was built and run by ‘The Ripy Brothers’ in 1905, and started distilling again after prohibition ended in 1933. Since then the company has been bought out by Austin Nichols and Pernod (and finally in 2009, The Campari Group announced its takeover sometime this year,(According to Wikipedia, However my bottle still says imported by Pernod so Im not really sure, I will have to investigate further).
A hunter and distillery executive named Thomas McCarthy took a private supply of the spirit along with him on an annual Wild Turkey hunt to enjoy with some friends. They liked it so much, that the next year they asked him to bring some of that same “Wild Turkey” bourbon along for them. This is how the name of the legendary brand was born.
Review:
As soon as I arrived home on Friday I was greeted by a nice sample of Rare Breed on my doorstep. Boy was I excited to try this one out.
Wild Turkey Rare Breed is a, “barrel-proof” bourbon, meaning that is distilled at a lower proof, barrelled for aging and then bottled without being cut with spring water to reduce the alcohol content, this lets the bourbon retain its full flavour without it being dulled. Rare Breed is bottled at 108.2 proof (54.1%)
Looking at the bottle lets you know how much goes into the bourbon; the short, round, slightly tapered bottle is capped with a cork and wooden handle. Each bottle is labelled with its batch number. The bottle screams high quality in my opinion, just what I like to see!
The bourbon itself has a dark amber tinge to it, much darker than the standard Wild Turkey bottle I also have.
When nosing the bourbon, there is a slightly sweet, tobacco smell, with hints of honey and dried fruits (apricots and dates) and enough of an alcohol hit to gently clear your nasal passages.
For the tasting, I must admit, I poured myself a large glass, as I was expecting to enjoy the forthcoming sipping.
Rare breed is quite a complex bird, with lots of hints at flavours that I cant quite put a name to.
When taking my first sip, there was a sweet, slightly fruity taste (dried, just like the smell). Following the first taste there was a spicy pepper taste and the drink finished with a leathery, cigar smoke flavour.
The spirit is very thin in texture, smooth like water on the tongue, but as it cools (with ice of course) it thickens slightly.
I did a side by side comparison to the standard Wild Turkey Bourbon and the rare breed is an infinitely better, it is heavier and more complex in flavour.
Rare Breed has a sharp alcohol sting to it in the after taste, however it doesn’t burn your nasal passages, it simply hangs in your mouth for a few seconds, and it doesn’t make your tongue numb. Considering that it is 108 PROOF, it is very smooth.
As my top shelf bourbon collection is growing, I decided to give its a quick colour and smell test against both Makers Mark and Elijah Craig 12yo (Both of which I hope to right up reviews for soon!); Rare Breed was darker than Makers Mark, but slightly lighter than the Elijah Craig 12yo, but had the most complex nose out of the bunch.
Wild Turkey is an experience, at $75 a bottle it is getting to the more expensive side of bourbon (defiantly not the most expensive though) but it is well worth the investment as a sipping bourbon that you can bring out for guests or special occasions, or even just as an occasional after-dinner drink.
Cocktails:
Usually I put some cocktails down the bottom of the review, but to be honest I can’t think of why you would want to mix this.
