Scarcity, quality make Rare Perfection 10 year Bourbon a Worthy Find
Calling it "just another 10 year old bourbon" also is an understatement. This is a bold and beautiful cask strength pour that shows its maturity and complexity right from the opening. Most whiskies of this age need a little room to stretch out in the glass, but not this one.
BOTTLE DETAILS
- DISTILLER: Bottled by Rare Perfection Distillers
- MASH BILL: At least 51% Corn
- AGE: 10 years
- YEAR: 2026
- PROOF: 130.7 (63.35% ABV)
- MSRP: $219.99
- BUY ONLINE: Available in limited supplies from online retailers and at Preservation Distillery + Farm
STEVE'S NOTES
SHARE WITH: Fans of big, bold bourbons and ryes.
WORTH THE PRICE: Old, great whiskey has its place and its price. This checks both of those boxes. So, if you want an extraordinary experience, prepare to pay the price.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bottle if you can swing the cost.
OVERALL: If you're familiar with Preservation Distillery, you know everything it produces isn't just small batch, those are tiny batches of one to three barrels. Rare Perfection 10 Year Old Vintage 2016 Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey is one among several.
Preservation founder Marci Palatella made her name in whiskey by searching out neglected barrels of long-aged American whiskies in the 1980s and 1990s, bottling and branding them under unique names such as Very Old St. Nick and Old Man Winter. Rare Under the Rare Perfection label are bourbon and Canadian whiskies made for fans of older and complex whiskies that, naturally, come with higher prices. (FWIW, in 2025, the first pot distilled bourbon made at Preservation, a wheated 7 year old bourbon, was released. It is quite good.)
Outside of finding these bottles at the distillery itself, they're challenging to locate on the broader market. This year's 10-year-old Rare Perfection Bourbon release is one you'll likely have to ask your favorite retailer to ask for from the distributor. Calling this release highly allocated is an understatement.
Calling it "just another 10 year old bourbon"–and there's a growing number of those coming to market now–also is an understatement. This is a bold and beautiful cask strength pour that shows its maturity and complexity right from the opening. Most whiskies of this age need a little room to stretch out in the glass, but not this one.
The nose leads with oatmeal raisin cookies sprinkled with confectioners sugar, fresh peaches, dried roses, vanilla bean and clove. It moves surprisingly but briefly to slightly herbal and savory (sage?) before returning to the sweeter side with cinnamon, chocolate and graham cracker notes. But don't mentally pigeon hole this into a future dessert pairing only. This goes really well with roast chicken, grilled shrimp or salmon, and smoked brisket.
Fruit picks up on the palate where baking aromas leave off. It begins with fresh peach pie and dried cherry before allowing some darker notes to share the spotlight. Charred oak, darkly toasted bread and dark caramel lay down complexity and rich mouthfeel before sponge cake, fig jam, candied violet and candied ginger collude to create a lovely cola flavor.
This is a big whiskey with a big price. But as distilleries have known for a long time, high-quality micro-releases like these always attract enough buyers to ensure sellouts that generate word of mouth and social media buzz. When scarcity and quality collide, sales follow. It's a smart formula.
BRAND NOTES
Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.