Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Rye Whiskey

Following the end of the American Civil War, the Ripy Brothers returned to their native state of Kentucky and together, opened a distillery on the slopes of a hill in Lawrenceburg. The distillery operated continuously for nearly fifty years until the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the sale of alcohol in the United States, was ratified. Following the end of Prohibition, the Ripy Brothers Distillery was reopened and a distillery executive named Thomas McCarthy took samples of maturing whiskey from the distillery on a turkey hunt with a group of friends. The next year, his friends asked him to bring "some of that wild turkey whiskey" on their next hunt, giving birth to the distillery's new name.

Today, Wild Turkey Distillery is stewarded by Master Distiller Jimmy Russell and his son Eddie Russell (together, the pair have over 90 years of experience producing bourbon). "I was born and raised in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky," says Jimmy, "which was a small community when I was growing up, but there were four bourbon distilleries here, and you had families working all the distilleries. You wanted to get in the business. My grandfather and my father, me, and now my son, we've all been in the business."

Wild Turkey's Rare Breed releases have turned out to be some of the tastiest they've put out with countless fans and awards to prove it: several Double Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Gold Medals at the International Wine & Spirits Competition, and numerous others. The rye whiskey is bottled at 112.2 proof and brings a rye recipe to the family of Wild Turkey's delicious barrel-proof releases. Non-chill filtered and uncut, this super-premium expression is bold, complex, and unrestrained.