Spirits trends come and go, but truly good whiskey will always have a place on back bars and retail shelves. Today, another great American whiskey enters the Wild Turkey® pantheon, as the legendary distillery introduces Rare Breed Rye as a permanent expression within its award-winning portfolio. This unique spirit embodies the same heritage, devotion to craft, and patience of process acknowledged and praised for its predecessors. With its barrel proof and bold taste, Rare Breed Rye beautifully rounds out Wild Turkey’s rye whisky offerings.
A blend of four-, six-, and eight-year-old non-chill filtered rye, Rare Breed Rye is barrel-proof, meaning that it’s bottled directly from the barrels—without adding a single drop of water. Enjoyed neat, on the rocks, or in cocktails, the flavor profile of the 112.2 proof Rare Breed Rye is nothing short of enticing: Sweet caramel apple gives way to complex layers of honey, vanilla, rye grain spice, and charred oak, followed by a smooth finish, where spices mingle with fruit and a pleasant fading warmth.
While Wild Turkey has never followed trends, demand for rye whiskey is up a significant 15 percent and growing, according to a 2019 DISCUS Economic Report. But it wasn’t always this way. As Prohibition and subsequent drinking trends caused the spirit to fall from favor, Wild Turkey was among the very few distilleries dedicated to the ongoing production of rye whiskey. That dedication can be seen today in expressions, such as Wild Turkey Rye, Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Russell’s Reserve 6-Year-Old Rye, and Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye. The culmination of several decades of Kentucky artisanship, the latest entry – Rare Breed Rye – draws on this storied past.
“At a time when rye whiskey is more widely appreciated than ever before, Wild Turkey continues our longstanding tradition of offering a wide range of rye whiskies that lend themselves to a variety of cocktails and consumption occasions,” says Eddie Russell, Master Distiller. “As a rye aficionado himself, my son Bruce Russell was the catalyst for reminding me of the distillery’s relationship with rye whiskey and the value it plays within our portfolio. It’s with him and other rye fans in mind that we introduce Rare Breed Rye.”
Rare Breed Rye will be available at select retailers in the United States at a MSRP of $59.99 a bottle.
