Four Roses Single Barrel vs Wild Turkey Rare Breed: Head to Head!

Discover the differences between Four Roses Single Barrel vs Wild Turkey Rare Breed in this in-depth comparison and decide which Bourbon is better for You!

Four Roses Single Barrel

Nose	Baking spice, cherry, vanilla, honey
Palate	Cinnamon, rye spice, vanilla, honey
Finish	Medium; caramel, baking spice, cinnamon
Alcohol content	100 proof (50% ABV)
How to drink	Add water
Similar to	Woodford Reserve, Basil Hayden’s

Nose is delicate, rich in baking spice, cherry and honeyed vanilla.

On the palate, the Single Barrel has tingling rye spice up-front with a hint of cinnamon giving way to sweet fruity notes, honey, vanilla and a tad of oak, with a creamy feel to it.

The finish has a medium-length, rich in sweet and cinnamon notes and is pleasantly warm.

The Four Roses Single Barrel carries high rye presence in the mash and it feels as the first sips are spicy.

But as you grow accustomed it becomes sweeter, showing rich fruity notes, along vanilla and honey making it entirely satisfying.

It bites a bit but is not harsh, which is understandable for something bottled at 100 proof, but the interesting and layered flavor profile makes up for it providing a fine sipper. Price point makes it a keeper.

The Single Barrel is the best 4 Roses whiskey and one of the best Single Barrel bourbons!

There are a few facts worth knowing about the Four Roses Single Barrel:

• Made from a mash of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley.

• Single Barrel is bottled from casks aged between 8 and 9 years.

• Uses a proprietary yeast culture used to ferment the mash producing rich fruity notes.

• Won the Gold Medal at the 2012 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

• The Four Roses distillery is located in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was built in 1910 with Spanish Mission-style architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Four Roses is owned by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japan.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Nose	Vanilla, caramel, oak
Palate	Baking spice, burnt sugar, vanilla, oak, old leather
Finish	Vanilla, old leather, oak char
Alcohol content	116 proof (58% ABV)
How to drink	Rocks, cocktails
Similar to	Eagle Rare, Kentucky Spirit, Longbranch

On the nose, the Rare Breed Bourbon comes with a honeyed aroma, along cinnamon, charred oak and very little ethanol.

On the palate, this whiskey offers a good creamy body, pleasing warmth up-front, with butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla and oak.

The finish is medium to long, warming, rich in vanilla, old leather and the signature charred oak note prevalent in every Wild Turkey Whiskey.

It drinks warm as you might expect from something bottled at 116 proof, yet it does not overwhelm as it is sweet and satisfying.

In fact, it drinks quite nicely as it has a solid texture and nice sweetness well balanced against oaky and spicy notes.

This Rare Breed Bourbon is one of the best in its class and it tastes better than bottles priced twice as much making it a champ in terms of value for the money.

Rare Breed is not only good but the Best Wild Turkey Bourbon!

There are a few facts worth knowing about the Rare Breed Bourbon:

• Rare Breed is barrel-proof, meaning it’s uncut, bottled directly from the barrels at the proof it reached in those barrels.

• This whiskey was bottled without water-dilution.

• Rare Breed is a blend of whiskeys aged between 6 and 8 years and 12 years.

• This whisky was not chill-filtered, this is a common practice among the industry as it prevents the liquid from becoming hazy, but some purists assure that the filtering also removes precious tasting notes from the dram.

• The mash bill is made from 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% barley.

• Gold at the New York International Spirits Competition 2020.

• Wild Turkey belongs to the Campari Group based in Milan, Italy.

Four Roses SB vs Wild Turkey RB: Price comparison

Prices are approximate and stated in USD:

Whiskey	Price
Four Roses Single Barrel	$50
Wild Turkey Rare Breed	$55

Four Roses Single Barrel vs Wild Turkey Rare Breed: Which is better?

The Rare Breed in unique

Whiskey	Four Roses SB	Rare Breed
Nose	✅	✅
Body		✅
Palate	✅	✅
Finish	✅	✅
Value	✅	✅

• If I had to choose between the two I would stay with the Rare Breed, as the higher proof produces a creamier body, as it was not chill-filtered it has more depth and the charred oak note makes it incredibly good.

• But do not rush to dismiss the Four Roses as it’s rich spicy profile and warmth can deliver a great Old Fashioned.

• This is a tough one as you are talking about the best Four Roses vs the best Wild Turkey. So I would not make these pours mutually exclusive as they both have a place in the cabinet of a true bourbon aficionado.