Rare breed barrel proof bourbon

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Batches

Batches by proof and year

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Batches and Releases

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Bourbon was first released in 1991. At the time, it was amongst the earliest releases of barrel proof bourbons because with the exception of Booker’s, high-proof whiskeys had not been explored in the US. It has been perpetually released since that time, which makes it one of the oldest and most continuously barrel proof releases of bourbon.

All of Wild Turkey’s bourbons are produced at a barrel char level of 4, enter the barrel at a proof of between 107 – 115 (which is lower than the standard entry proof of 125), and use the same mash bill of 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley.

As of 2024 there have been 14 Wild Turkey Rare Breed batches. Some batches span multiple years (the current batch is into it’s 8th year), while other years have seen 2 or even 3 batches. Batch W-T-02-93 is an anomaly and was perhaps miss-labeled or not actually released. I haven’t found clarification.

Prior to 2014, batches were labeled on the neck of the bottle with a batch code or number (W-T-01-99). But beginning in 2014 batches were simply labeled by their proof on the neck, so the current batch is known as 116.8. Many, if not all, new batches have been accompanied with a new bottle shape and/or new label design.

Batch #	Year	Proof
116.8	2016 – Present	116.8
112.8	2014 – 2016	112.8
WT-03RB	2004 – 2013	108.2
W-T-01-99	1999 – 2004	108.4
W-T-01-97	1997 – 1998	108.6
W-T-01-96	1996	108.8
W-T-02-95	1995	109
W-T-01-95	1995	109
W-T-02-94	1994	109.6
W-T-01-94	1994	112.2
W-T-03-93	1993	111.4
W-T-02-93	1993	??
W-T-01-93	1993	110.8
W-T-03-91	1991	109.6
W-T-02-91	1991 & 1994	110

Check out our review of Rare Breed 116.8!