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Speakeasy Spirit of the Month: September 08 - Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Pat, you really want to step up, pick up a bottle of George T. Stagg it's about twice as much as the Rare Breed, but it ranges from 130-140 proof and is astoundingly smooth, it's one of the finest whiskeys you can buy.

You are a bad influence!!:biggrin:

Have you tried the Wild Turkey Single Barrel (about $10 more than WTRB)?
 
I made a trip to Bevmo this past weekend and they were out of rare breed. Hopefully I will find some before the month ends.
 
I made a trip to Bevmo this past weekend and they were out of rare breed. Hopefully I will find some before the month ends.

The B&B SOTM club is more popular than we thought! :lol:

Seriously, even if you can't pick it up in the next two weeks, its worth the cash if you want to go it on your own later.
 
The B&B SOTM club is more popular than we thought! :lol:

Seriously, even if you can't pick it up in the next two weeks, its worth the cash if you want to go it on your own later.

Found some today at a little store - got it for $30 too :001_smile

Batch #wt-03rb. Am I right in assuming that this stands for:
Wild Turkey 2003 Rare Breed?

I haven't tired it yet. I will crack open the bottle tomorrow

So what batch are you guys drinking?
 
Found some today at a little store - got it for $30 too :001_smile

Batch #wt-03rb. Am I right in assuming that this stands for:
Wild Turkey 2003 Rare Breed?

I haven't tired it yet. I will crack open the bottle tomorrow

So what batch are you guys drinking?

$30 :eek: Must be nice... Mine came in at $40. :mad:

I have the 03 as well. I've only had the chance to try this one once, but am hoping to get back to it this weekend. I need to experiment a bit more with the water ratio. I found it too harsh neat, but it opened up remarkably with just a couple of drops -- still a bit on the harsh/astringent side, though. Some of that is the higher proof, but I think something between "a couple of drops" and a tablespoon will get me there. I appreciate the cocktail recipes, but refuse to do that to a Bourbon of this, um, breeding.
 
$30 :eek: Must be nice... Mine came in at $40. :mad:

I have the 03 as well. I've only had the chance to try this one once, but am hoping to get back to it this weekend. I need to experiment a bit more with the water ratio. I found it too harsh neat, but it opened up remarkably with just a couple of drops -- still a bit on the harsh/astringent side, though. Some of that is the higher proof, but I think something between "a couple of drops" and a tablespoon will get me there. I appreciate the cocktail recipes, but refuse to do that to a Bourbon of this, um, breeding.

Yeah, there's a really fine line with the RB between "opened up" and over-diluted. I had to fiddle with it too.
 
Fellas it's Friday night and I went to 4 different stores tonight and called three others on the phone hoping to join you in this SOTM. While I saw alot of Wild Turkey 80 and 101, none had the Rare Breed.

Perhaps it's for the best... I'm not much of a drinker, only enjoying a glass of wine on occasion. Should I start with something different to learn how to appreciate a drink such as the Rare Breed or have some of you guys started right-out with the top shelf? I looked at the Makers Mark and Knobs Creek too, but I kept saying to myself... I'm out shopping for WTRB and I'll not buy anything less (or more?). In the end I settled for a nice six-pack of IBC Cream Soda. --see what I mean? :frown:

It's too bad really. Some of the reviews in this thread really had me going for tonight.
 
Perhaps it's for the best... I'm not much of a drinker, only enjoying a glass of wine on occasion. Should I start with something different to learn how to appreciate a drink such as the Rare Breed or have some of you guys started right-out with the top shelf? I looked at the Makers Mark and Knobs Creek too, but I kept saying to myself... I'm out shopping for WTRB and I'll not buy anything less (or more?).

Iron,

So sorry you weren't able to find it. That truly sucks. :bored:

If you're not a liquor sipper to begin with, there's no reason to avoid the Makers', Knob Creek, WT 101 or the like if you're interested in getting your tastebuds around some bourbon. Its not that Rare Breed isn't smooth and fairly accessible -- but you might like to have a consistent baseline to compare the top-shelf stuff to. Those brands definitely have their charm and would give you a taste for the spirit. Go with the WT for something a little less mellow than the others.

Don't worry... I'm sure we'll be passing around some other bottles of bourbon as the months go by. :biggrin:
 
Fellas it's Friday night and I went to 4 different stores tonight and called three others on the phone hoping to join you in this SOTM. While I saw alot of Wild Turkey 80 and 101, none had the Rare Breed.

Perhaps it's for the best... I'm not much of a drinker, only enjoying a glass of wine on occasion. Should I start with something different to learn how to appreciate a drink such as the Rare Breed or have some of you guys started right-out with the top shelf? I looked at the Makers Mark and Knobs Creek too, but I kept saying to myself... I'm out shopping for WTRB and I'll not buy anything less (or more?). In the end I settled for a nice six-pack of IBC Cream Soda. --see what I mean? :frown:

It's too bad really. Some of the reviews in this thread really had me going for tonight.

I think it'd be more fun to wait till they end up in the SOTM, and it seems like they may. I'd keep my eyes open for the Rare Breed, but mainly be steeling myself up for the next month if I were you. As that's basically what I'm doing - B.C. Liquor doesn't bring in Rare Breed, so there's no easy way for me to get it for less than $120 a bottle (there are almost $90 of duties involved in bringing a bottle of 80 proof spirit over, and the higher the proof the higher the duties).
 
UPDATE:

SCORE!!! I called around today and I finally found a shop on the other side of town that has two bottles in stock. The Mrs is on her way out for the evening and promised to stop for one on her way home.

:biggrin1: :badger: :biggrin1:

The best part is the lady on the phone reported that they sell all of their stock at the state minimum price... $33! Also, this place is just north of my office... never even been inside before.

I'll let you guys know what I think in a couple of days.

This is also pretty good timing as my best bud just landed a great job and he starts next week. Now we have the good stuff for a nice little celebration.

Hopefully he'll be on the board before too long... I played the whole DE shaving thing a little hard to get... not pushy at all, but the other week he told me he might be ready to give my little hobby a try. I've got a superspeed saved for him already, and I just picked up an Ever Ready boar brush and some AV, now I just need to order him a jar of Tabac. Only the best for my friends... only the best. (except for the brush, he can pay for that one himself. :biggrin:)
 
Wow, I was the last person to post in this thread. :eek:

I guess folks need to post their impressions within the first couple of weeks, otherwise the topic becomes a bit stale.

Well anyways, I promised to give my review after my first real testing of quality bourbon, so here it is.

My first tasting I really wasn't sure about HOW I should enjoy it. I'd read a bit about drinking it 'neat', on ice and cut with some quality water. So of course, I tried all three! But I shouldn't have done it all in the same glass/pour... :biggrin:

I poured myself a modest amount in one of our nice new glasses that my wonderful wife picked-up for me at Target just for joining the B&B Spirit of the Month Group. I'll say here, that I was laughing at the little tag on the bottle inviting me to join the "Rare Breed Club" because of my discerning taste in Bourbon. :lol:

My first 2-3 sips were neat and I was quite surprised at the strength of the vapors and the discomfort in my nose and eyes. I really didn't enjoy it very much at all and I was really concerned that I was in WAY over my head.

Next I added one teaspoon of filtered water (recalling that some mentioned that only a little water was required to cut the barrel proof concentration. But, to be honest, I didn't really notice too much of a difference at this point. After adding a second teaspoon of water I noticed a lot more flavor and started to reconsider that I might be able to enjoy Rare Breed afterall... THEN I figured, maybe I really like it cold and as it melts it might continue mellowing with the further addition of water.

:frown: -BIG MISTAKE!!!

Too much water in the bourbon PLUS being cold and I felt that my drink was completely ruined.

Ok, so now I knew how I preferred it... two teaspoons of warm water.

The next night I tried it cut with water and I drank it, but I wasn't thinking it was really all that special, but it wasn't terrible either.

Two days later, we had a party at the house and I grilled-up about 15 think and juicy burgers. As part of the celebration I offered all the guys a taste of the Rare Breed prepared as the preferred (half requested neat, half cut with water like mine).

:w00t: WOW!!! :w00t:

Wild Turkey Rare Breed alongside a think and juicy hamburger tasted completely OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD!!! There were all kinds of sweet tastes and tones and flavors mingling in my mouth and throat. It was absolutely delicious. It must have been the combination of a savory food or something but it was really worth the money to me at that point.

Since then I've poured myself a glass every couple of nights and for the most part I feel like I could take it or leave it... but I havn't had it again with dinner. I need to do that again to see if I can recreate those delicious flavors with varying food types; savory and salty food especially. I think those are probably the best contrasting flavors to help bring out the sweet undertones in the Bourbon... Good stuff. :thumbup1:
 
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