Wild Turkey: Jimmy Russell's 70th Anniversary 8 Year Old

Wild Turkey has long been my personal measuring stick for bourbon. The standard 101-proof release is one of my favorite bourbons on the market, and it has been for years. It’s also extremely reasonably priced. In fact, it’s so reasonably priced that it has won the BourbonGuy.com Brackets competition nearly every time it’s been entered. The only exception was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when I decided to pit it against higher-proof (and higher-cost) options since I couldn’t leave the house for a couple of months.

As I said, I use it as a measuring stick. When I’m unsure whether to buy a given expensive whiskey, I ask myself, “Is it worth five bottles of Wild Turkey?” The answer is usually no. Of course, that logic doesn’t always apply when impulse buying—like when I received a marketing email from Wild Turkey announcing a preorder for this 8-year-old edition. I knew immediately I’d be buying it.

But why? Is an 8-year-old version worth twice the price of the standard 101, which typically starts at around six years of age? Probably not. This is one of those rare instances where I bought something not for what was in the bottle but for what was on it.

Jimmy Russell has worked at Wild Turkey for 70 years. Let that sink in—70 years with the same company, through changes in ownership and shifts in the market. I’ve never held a job for more than ten years—unless you count the unpaid job of writing for this site (then it’s twelve and a half). Over all those decades, Jimmy has just been there, making and promoting bourbon. Sure, he may not be as involved in the day-to-day operations now, but he’s earned that. He’s an icon of the whiskey industry, and it will be a very sad day when he is no longer with us.

So yes, I bought this bottle to honor a man I deeply admire. And I bought a second one to open and toast him on the unfortunate but inevitable day of his passing. Is it “worth it”? In this case, for me, worth goes beyond the contents of the bottle. But let’s see how it tastes.

Wild Turkey Jimmy Russell’s 70th Anniversary 8 Year Old

Purchase info: $66.72 (including shipping and tax) for a 750 mL bottle from the Wild Turkey site, fulfilled through ReserveBar.com. The suggested retail price is $50.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.45

Details: 50.5 % ABV. 8 years old

Nose: Nutmeg, caramel, oak, and vanilla.

Mouth: Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Rich notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak.

Thoughts: Folks, you know I love Wild Turkey. And having had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy Russell on a couple of occasions, I can tell you he’s a gem of a man, full of wonderful stories. So I knew I needed to buy this bourbon, even though I suspected—based on the specs—that it would likely be “just” a very good bottle of Wild Turkey. Well, I was right.

Tasting this side-by-side with the standard 101 reveals that the 70th Anniversary Edition is a bit more refined and slightly sweeter. That’s about it. If you are fortunate enough to get a bottle, you now own a subtly better version of Wild Turkey, which is a fantastic thing. If you didn’t, console yourself with the fact that the standard Wild Turkey 101 is still really damn good—and even the special edition only subtly improved on it.

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11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Championship Rounds

Welcome back, folks! We are now at the end of the 2024 contest. Eight whiskeys entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats, with not a single stinker in the bunch. Let’s see how it all ends and see if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 2: Whiskey A (Buffalo Trace) vs. Whiskey B (George Dickel Bourbon)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The noses are pretty similar. “A” is more vibrant, “B” is nuttier. In the mouth, “A” is very nicely balanced with a nice sweetness. “B” is spicier, also with a nice flavor.

Winner: “B” (George Dickel Bourbon) moves on to the Championship Round based on the nice spiciness.

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Division 1: Whiskey A (Old Forester 100 Proof) vs. Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “B” has more caramel and nuttiness. The nose on “A” is more muted with a faint medicinal note. “B” is very spicy on the month. “A” has notes of red fruit and marzipan.

Winner: “B” is spicier, but that spiciness overwhelms the other notes. “A” is more well-rounded, which I prefer. “A” (Old Forester 100 proof) moves on to the Championship Round

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Championship Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “A” shows more caramel and vanilla versus the fruit notes on “B.” The mouth on “A” is showing spice, caramel, and oak. “B” shows more fruit. It’s close, but I think “A” pulls ahead based on the oak and spice.

Winner: “A” (George Dickel Bourbon)

Congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon, the 2024 BourbonGuy.com Bracket Champion!

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Lessons Learned:

This was an interesting contest for me. I like contests where I know I won’t need to brace myself before taking the first sip in a tasting. Every one of the bourbons was good. I don’t think I’d say there is anything in here that would warrant a “meh/neutral” rating if it were being tasted alone. That might be a first.

So, what did I learn about each of these?

Ok, right off the bat, I expected a little blowback on George Dickel Bourbon even being in the contest. I got it last year when I included their Bottled-in-Bond Whiskey, and I honestly expected the same this year. I am personally shocked that Dickel won the contest. I honestly expected Old Forester 100 proof to win based on what I thought my personal preferences were. That said, upon reflection, I’m not shocked that the only age-stated bourbon in the batch won the whole thing. It’s hard to beat time in a barrel for making good whiskey. Add in the fact that it was less than $25 and less than 100 proof, and the whole thing just makes me happy. I love an underdog story.

Moving over to the other Championship contender, as stated above, Old Forester 100 Proof would have been my favorite to win the contest at the outset. Not only does it sit in my favorite proof point, but it was also the most expensive of the bunch. Not that price always correlates to quality (that’s one of the reasons we run this contest each year), but it certainly correlates to how much a company thinks people would be willing to pay for something. And that has at least a passing relationship with how good something is, especially with a product that has been on the market for a long time like this. That said, it came in second and won its division. It’s a good bourbon and one that is often on my shelf.

Newcomer Wheel Horse Bourbon handled itself admirably. It didn’t quite have the gusto to knock off a competitor with lots of age on it, but it should hold its head up high. It lost to the eventual champion this year. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s good whiskey and a good value. It may have advanced if it had had a different matchup in the first round. I think I’ll be doing a full review of this one in the near future if I don’t drink it all first.

Elijah Craig is a great bourbon. It is more delicate than other bourbons in this list, having neither the age nor the proof of other contestants. Because of that, it doesn’t surprise me that it lost in the first round. But with no comparisons, I'm a happy camper if this is in my glass.

When I think of Buffalo Trace, the old chant from high school sports of “O-Ver-Rate-Ed clap clap clapclapclap.” That isn’t to say that it is a stinker or even a “meh” bourbon. No, it is very good. But when I get comments from people saying that it goes for $50 in their neck of the woods, it’s hard to take it seriously these days. Especially when contrasted with other comparable products. Sazerac won the PR lottery when they got the contract to have Pappy chosen from among their stocks oh-so-many years ago.

I’m just going to copy and paste what I said last year about Old Tub, as nothing has changed in my assessment: “Old Tub reminded me that Jim Beam makes good whiskey. It just needs some proof. Go below 100° proof, and it gets way too nutty for many folks, including me, when the mood isn’t right.”

I didn’t learn much from Old Grand-Dad 114 that I didn’t already know. I knew it was a great bourbon that didn’t cost much, and nothing about that has changed. The proof adds a nice spice to what might otherwise be a lackluster bourbon that would be too grain-forward for my personal tastes. That’s why I like Bonded and 114 so much better than the 80 proof.

Finally, Ezra Brooks 99 is right there with the other bourbons in this group. It was great as a 90° proof. And with that great base, the proof bump makes it an absolute winner. Sure, the price is higher than the now-discontinued 90, but I think the quality went up more. If I’m not buying for content, this is one that I pick up a lot.

Ok, so we have one further contest to take a look at before we put the brackets to bed this year. I retired Wild Turkey 101 from the yearly bracket contest a few years ago. It won every time it appeared until I paired it against other, more expensive, 100-ish proof bourbons during the pandemic. It is literally the GOAT when it comes to inexpensive bourbon. One of the guys I talk to at a local liquor store describes more expensive bourbons using Wild Turkey 101 as the measuring stick. “Is this worth four bottles of Wild Turkey 101?” And I love that. So, I decided to bring it out of retirement to see how this year’s winner stacked up against the old bird. (You may notice it hiding in the back of the photo above.)

Emeritus Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Wild Turkey 101)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: “A” has a lot of oak on both the nose and mouth, along with toffee on the mouth. “B” shows nice cinnamon on the nose and mouth along with some caramel on the mouth. Both have a nice spice.

Winner: Very close, but I'm leaning toward “B” (Wild Turkey) in the Emeritus Contest.

Now that we are done, it’s time to turn the page to the future. Next week, we will look at the samples that have been stacking up while the contest was going on. As much fun as this was, it’s fun to try new bourbons, too.

Once again, congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon on their 2024 Championship!

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2021: The Championship Rounds

Well, here we are again. Once again we’ve nearly made it to the end of the Bottom-Shelf Brackets competition. I hope everyone was playing along. And if not, that you’ve had enough of these to play along in your mind. It really is a fun exercise each year to sit down and pit inexpensive bourbons against each other. I say inexpensive instead of “bad” because there isn’t one of these that will be dumped out when this is done. I will use every one in some way or another. Either neat on its own, in a cocktail, or even as the base of a blend. They are all good bourbons, some are just better than others in my opinion. You’re welcome to form your own opinions as to whether I’m right.

But anyway, let’s get on to round two and see who advances. Both of these matchups feature a 1-seed versus a 2-seed. There haven’t been any upsets so far. Let’s see if that continues.

Round 2a: Whiskey 1 (Ezra Brooks) vs. Whiskey 2 (Evan Williams)

Thoughts: Very similar on the nose. Both are decent on the mouth. Vibrant cinnamon spice in each. The finish of #1 shows peanut where #2 Shows a zesty spice. #2 wins on the strength of a nicer and tastier finish.

Round 2b: Whiskey 1 (Very Old Barton) vs. Whiskey 2 (Wild Turkey)

Thoughts: Once again the nose on each of these is similar with only slight differences to delicate notes. So the nose is a push. #1 has a nice mouthfeel with citrusy notes to go with the spicy notes. #2 was a little thin at first with a blossom of flavor after a few seconds in the mouth. Lots of baking spice notes in that blossoming. The finish is nice on both this time. I think I need to go with #2, but it is really close.

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I’m not going to lie, I was very surprised to find out that Wild Turkey and Evan Wiliams won their rounds. As I stated above, we hadn’t had an upset yet and it was surprising to find not one, but two when all of the names were revealed at the end. I was especially surprised that the lower proof entry won each time.

Let’s see who our winner is.

Championship Round: Whiskey 1 (Evan Williams) vs. Whiskey 2 (Wild Turkey)

Whiskey #1: Mint, cinnamon, citrus zest. Not too hot, but not bland. Tasty finish.

Whiskey #2: Sweeter. Brown sugar, baking spices. Spicier but a little rough in its spice by comparison.

Winner: #1 wins this one. Once again very close but #1 has a touch more complexity.

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If you could have seen my face as we revealed which alphanumeric code was which bourbon, you wold have laughed. I went into this fully expecting Very Old Barton to win. I mean it had won previously, right? The fact that it didn’t even make it out of Round 2 caused my jaw to drop. And it dropped even further when I saw it had been beaten by one that I said probably wouldn’t win against stiffer competition just the round prior.

But the biggest shock of all was Evan Williams winning it all. I know that a lot of you saw that coming. But I certainly didn’t. Which is weird since I know that Evan Williams is good bourbon. Due to the nature of the need for content on the site, I almost never buy it. But it is good stuff. And super inexpensive as well. It just goes to show that even those of us who have been tasting bourbon for a lot of years have our biases and preconceived notions.

And to be honest, it is fitting that Evan Williams won. I started this series of posts talking about “Finding Joy in the Ordinary.” And Evan Williams could be the patron saint of ordinary bourbon. Notice I said ordinary, not bad, bourbon. Evan Williams is good, plentiful, inexpensive and available in multiple styles and proof levels. I couldn’t have planned a more thematically accurate winner. I think that’s pretty cool.

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Bottom-Shelf Brackets 2021: Round 1: Wild Turkey vs. Rebel Yell

I am going to let you know right now, that neither of these bourbons have ever made it past the first round. In fact, I’d made pretty disparaging remarks about both of these during their prior appearances. I really did not like Rebel Yell in 2014. In fact, Old Crow Reserve (remember that one?) beat it. In the intervening years, the bourbon has gotten better, but I’ve also grown more tolerant of heated bourbons. And in 2016, I described Wild Turkey as “gentle” which isn’t something that I’d have historically thought to use for anything from the brand.

Of course, one of these has to win tonight. So no matter who wins, it’ll be their first. And when the entire contest is blind from start to finish, and you have no preconceived notions about what is in the glass other than “this is one of eight bourbons,” well, then all bets are off. So let’s watch history being made.

Our first whiskey is our number two seed for Division Two. Coming in at 81 proof and looking to see if its rye grains can run over the wheated competition, please welcome: Wild Turkey!

And their opponent is the only wheated bourbon in the competition. Please welcome Rebel Yell!

Reminder, all of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew what juice won the competition prior to the reveal of what any of the names were. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and could have influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey 1 (Wild Turkey)

Purchase Info: $18.49 for a 1-liter bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $0.93

Details: 40.5% ABV.

Nose: Mint leaves, hints of cinnamon, caramel, and almond.

Mouth: Thin mouthfeel. Notes of cinnamon, caramel, and citrus zest.

Finish: Short and gentle with notes of cinnamon and caramel.

Thoughts:  Not bad. The citrus zest was an interesting "twist" I hadn't expected.

Whiskey 2 (Rebel Yell)

Purchase Info: $14.99 for a 750 mL bottle, MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.00

Details: 40% ABV.

Nose: Herbal and grassy like a mint chamomile tea blend.

Mouth: Follows the nose with the addition of a cinnamon note.

Finish: Short and uncomplicated. Notes of caramel, cinnamon, dried grains, and an old stick you found in the yard.

Thoughts: Not much going on in this one. It's fine for what it is, but it isn't much.

Winner: This is a pretty easy decision. I like everything going on with #2, I just need it to be more concentrated. It was just a bit too delicate for me. #1 also isn't a great whiskey but is enough to hold my interest. #1 wins, though I'm not sure either would advance against stronger competition.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

8th Annual BourbonGuy.com Bottom-Shelf Brackets: The "Find Joy in the Ordinary" Edition

I like to use a Chrome plugin called Momentum as a home screen for my instance of the Chrome browser. It has a new pretty photo every day. It tells me the time, local weather, and helps me with my to-do list. Recently it started showing “Mantras” below the time. I found the one pictured above to be particularly meaningful. “Find Joy in the Ordinary.”

It’s sometimes hard to do as a bourbon lover, finding joy in the ordinary. The entire purpose of a site like this is to give people a sense of what is new and exciting. Even if it is only new and exciting to me. So, this year I’ve made a commitment to myself to step back a little and to do what the computer screen told me to do. Find Joy in the Ordinary.

And, perfect timing, it’s time for the Bottom Shelf Bourbon Brackets again. Maybe it is just me, but I haven’t heard a lot of talk about the NCAA tournament this year…and I’m fully willing to admit that it may be because my beloved Golden Gophers were bad enough this year that the coach was fired at the end of the season. I might just be hiding from any news that has to do with the yearly basketball tournament.

Of course, as long-time readers know, I don’t really like basketball anyway. In fact, this series was started eight years ago as a way to play along with all the folks around me filling out their brackets, while not caring about basketball.

In recent years, I’ve gotten caught up in the excitement of more “interesting” bourbons. Two years ago, I decided to let the readers choose who participated. Last year, I threw out the concept of “Bottom-Shelf” entirely. But this year, following the advice of the computer screen, I’ve decided to find joy in the ordinary. And as such, I’m going old-school on this one. Back to the original rules. Back to some really “ordinary” bourbons. Things that would have been participants from the first few years before I started messing with the rules.

Here are the rules:

1. In keeping with the theme, it had to be “ordinary.” No Single barrel, no small batch. No Bottled in Bond. Anything that might be used to call something special was thrown out. This is for true entry-level bourbons.

2. The original rules stated that it had to be under $15 for a 750 mL bottle or under $20 for a liter bottle. I decided to keep that.

3. The original rules also stated that entries had to be Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I saw no reason to change that.

4. Participants were seeded based on proof and then age. Higher proof equals a higher seeding. If you stated a bourbon’s age when you didn’t have to, you got a nod over those, at the same proof, who didn’t. If you stated a bourbon’s age because you were young enough that the law required it, someone else got the nod over you.

5. These were tasted blind. I had no idea what each of the participants was when I tasted them. I poured 200mL bottles of each bourbon. I labeled them with an alphanumeric code and then filled out an initial bracket with those codes. Until we were finished I never saw the bracket or the bottles that were being poured again. My wife (who didn’t know which code corresponded to each bourbon) poured each round and filled out the winners in secret.

So, let’s meet the 2021 competition, shall we? Coming in at the number one overall seed is Ezra Brooks from Lux Row Distillery. This seeding comes down to proof, at 90 proof, this was the highest proof bourbon in the competition. They will initially match up against number four seed, Benchmark Bourbon from Buffalo Trace. At only “36 months” and 80 proof, this was the lowest seed in the competition. Rounding out Division One is a matchup between Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams Black Label and BeamSuntory’s Jim Beam White Label. Due to being 86 proof, Evan Williams was the second seed and due to stating its age, Jim Beam White gets the nod over other 80 proof offerings to take the first number three seed.

Over in Division Two, we have Very Old Barton (86 proof) from the Barton 1792 Distillery as the number one seed. They match up against Beam Suntory’s number four seed Old Grand Dad (80 Proof). In the second matchup, we have number two seed Wild Turkey (81 proof) against number three seed Rebel Yell from Lux Row.

This should be fun. Let’s go find joy in ordinary bourbon. So who’ve you got? Let everyone know down in the comments.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

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Random Stuff: Mini Reviews, News, and More!

Remember how I was working my way through a batch of tasting notes that I created before I was sick? Well I’ve run out and am only now beginning to trust to ol’ taster. So I thought I might do something different tonight and share some of the interesting things that have recently come across my desk.

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The Rebirth of Bourbon: Building a Tourism Economy in Small-town, USA (Economics of Vice)

Details: Available from Amazon for $32.99 (as of this writing). 174 pages. Authors: Steve Coomes, Kim Huston, Michael Mangeot.

Thoughts: Back in October, Bardstown held a virtual edition of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. In the media kit that I was sent was a book partially written by the host of the virtual festival, Steve Coomes that just so happened to be about Bardstown and their bourbon tourism plans. It seemed like the book for me. I love Bardstown, I love bourbon and bourbon tourism, I even like the occasional book about economics.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into the book. It’s filled with great information. It’s well written. But I struggled to get through it. It’s possible that even the short page count of 174 pages was a little too much for a book about a very small town’s business plan.

That said, I’d probably still recommend this to people who, like me, love visiting Bardstown and go back year after year. Even if only so you know which changes to prepare for and which to hope for.

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Wilderness Trail Owner Honored

Last week I got a press release from Wilderness Trail Distillery letting me know that Owner, Shane Baker was one of two people honored with the new “Esprit de Corps” award from the Kentucky Distillers Association. Quoting from the Press Release:

The Board’s Resolution saluted Baker “for his technical education, assistance and collaborative efforts in the production and distribution of hand sanitizer in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and for his overall support, assistance and guidance to other members of the KDA throughout his tenure with the organization.

“Mr. Baker’s outstanding service and devotion to his community and to the cause helped our beloved Commonwealth contain the early spread of the virus and protected hundreds of doctors, first responders and emergency personnel through the donation of sanitizer and the assistance to KDA members in its manufacture and coordination of resources,” the Resolution stated.

With the poop-show that 2020 has been, it’s nice to remember that there are also some bright spots out there.

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Four Roses to Expand Visitor Center

It seems that expanding the distillery was not the only expansions plans that Four Roses had. Last week the news was released of a planned expansion of the Visitor Center. They’ll be using the same architectural firm that helped with the distillery expansion and the original building of the distillery campus in order to maintain the historic look of the campus. Quoting the press release:

The visitor center project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 and will include:

• New state-of-the-art bar featuring cocktails and tastings of Four Roses’ current Bourbon portfolio and exclusive product tastings;

• Four new seated tasting rooms offering a space for enhanced educational experiences;

• Updated retail gift shop with Four Roses’ Bourbon products and other branded merchandise for sale;

• Outdoor patio space where visitors can enjoy the beautiful distillery grounds.

The visitor center will also offer interactive, educational experiences dedicated to the rich 132-year history of the Four Roses brand, including an interactive display showcasing archived Four Roses bottlings, vintage advertisements and other memorabilia.

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I’ll leave you with a drawing I did during some Autumn downtime. It’s based on a photo that was taken of my wife and Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell at one of the first Kentucky Bourbon Festivals that we attended. The photo didn’t turn out due to a really bad phone camera, but it made for a nice reference for drawing. Jimmy Russell is one of the nicest and most interesting men I’ve talked to at a bourbon distillery. I hope that I still love what I do enough to show up for work when I am his age.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Wild Turkey Rye (81 proof)

Don’t tell my wife this, but I can be quite absent-minded. Even when I was young, I’d wander into a room and have absolutely no idea why I was there. I once found a tv remote in the refrigerator. I even once forgot my Aunt’s name.

I wasn’t proud of that last one. She’d been in the family since before I was born. I’ve made sure to use her name repeatedly every time I’ve talked to her since. I really want to make sure that she knows I remember.

Another recent example is tonight’s whiskey. Last month I did a rundown of all the Wild Turkey Rye whiskeys in comparison to their most recent rye release, Rare Breed Rye. But, do you know what I didn’t do? Look to see if I had ever reviewed any of them prior to that.

Luckily for me, I’d done the 101 Rye multiple times, both before and after its hiatus a few years back. I’d also reviewed Russell’s Reserve Rye. But…yeah. Never did the standard 81 proof version. I’m thinking that it is about time to remedy that. Especially since my bottle is getting a bit low.

Wild Turkey Rye (81 proof)

Purchase Info: $22.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.53

Details: 40.5% ABV

Nose: Mint, dried grass, clove, cinnamon, and a candy sweetness.

Mouth: Mint, cinnamon, cedar, and a light sweetness.

Finish: Short and pretty gentle. Lingering notes of mint and cinnamon candies.

Thoughts: I think of this one primarily as a cocktail ingredient. The flavors stand up well to other ingredients in rye-based cocktails. It's ok neat, but nothing to write home about. I'd much prefer a pour of 101 Rye if I was going to sip neat. For a cocktail though, I think I prefer the 81. It tastes just as good in spirit-forward cocktails, but is less expensive and allows you to consume slightly less alcohol.

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Did you enjoy this post? If so, maybe you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee in return. Go to ko-fi.com/bourbonguy to support. And thank you, BourbonGuy.com is solely supported via your generosity.

Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye

Just about one month ago, my wife and I each had a birthday. Because our birthdays are within a couple of days of each other, we tend to celebrate them together. Usually, we’ll go out to eat, see a movie, and maybe buy a bottle of our favorite “Special Occasion” bourbon (Wild Turkey Rare Breed).

Well, this year we didn’t go out to eat. Instead, I smoked a couple of Ribeye steaks. We didn’t go out to see a movie. Instead, we bought the new Bill & Ted movie and watched that at home. I did buy a bottle of Rare Breed Bourbon, but as I was looking up the price ahead of my trip to the liquor store, I noticed that Total Wine was also listing the new Rare Breed Rye as being in stock at a few of the stores in the area.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon is one of our favorites and one that we will often celebrate special occasions with. I also really like Wild Turkey 101 Rye whiskey. So I was pretty excited to bring the new bird into our birthday celebration. Unfortunately, it wasn’t at my usual store. Luckily it was at a location a few suburbs away.

I consider that extra drive part of my wife’s birthday present.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye

Purchase Price: $61.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Chanhassen, MN

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.13

Details: 56.1% ABV

Nose: Mint, a hint of dill, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cedar

Mouth: Bright and lively. Mint, ginger, citrus zest, cinnamon

Finish: Medium and warm. Cedar and cinnamon notes linger.

Thoughts: This might just be my new favorite sipping rye. I really like the 100 proof Old Forester rye, but the added proof on this one raises Rare Breed Rye above that. Rare Breed Bourbon is my favorite Wild Turkey Bourbon. Depending on the day, I can see this competing with that for my favorite Wild Turkey product.

So, how does this newcomer compare to the other Ryes in the Wild Turkey lineup? In case you were curious, I’ve done a mini If You’ve Had… for the Wild Turkey Ryes below.

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Comparison to Other Turkey Ryes

Rare Breed Rye vs 101 Rye:

Noses are very similar. Rare Breed is bright and lively whereas 101 tends more toward sweet caramel flavors

Rare Breed Rye vs Russell’s Reserve Rye

Russell’s Reserve is sweeter and fruitier on the nose. On the mouth, Russell's Reserve shows more ripe fruit compared to the citrus zest of Rare Breed. Russell's Reserve also shows more oak.

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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