I’m going to move on: I have a tendency to take Wild Turkey for granted. It’s a constant on bar and liquor store shelves, and if you’re a fan of American whiskey, there’s probably a bottle or two of Wild Turkey 101 in your house, too. It’s been around forever, it’s not going anywhere, it’s a known quantity, and I, for one, have a tendency to forget it in favor of any shiny new object that lands. in front of me. Right now, for example, I have a bottle of NBA star Steph Curry’s new bourbon hunting across the room. It’s reasonable, not insulting, to assume that I’m possibly not as smart as Wild Turkey 101, or Rare Breed, or Kentucky Spirit, or any of the other WT expressions that periodically come into my glass. But hey, figuring out, say, whether Steph Curry’s bourbon is smart outweighs the preference for re-examining a classic, reliable whiskey.
Eddie Russell, the master distiller of Wild Turkey, has also been overlooked for a long time. This is largely due to his father, the legendary Jimmy Russell, who started at the distillery in 1954 and continues to play a reduced role today. Eddie has been the driving force behind Guyy of Wild Turkey’s most edgy expressions, especially the Master’s Keep series (more on this shortly). But in the eyes of the public, he played the role of the straight guy while Jimmy told jokes and spun around. folkloric and jovial stories. There was also some mischievousness in Jimmy’s stubborn insistence that the sweet spot for a bourbon, in terms of aging, is 6 to 8 years (he’ll also say 8 to 10 years, but 6 to 8 years, that’s what he told me), while Eddie continued to experiment and push the boundaries with extra-aged bourbons and rye.
In 2023, it’s clear that Eddie stands alongside his father as one of the titans of Kentucky bourbon (and rye), and while Jimmy helped establish Wild Turkey as one of the premier American whiskeys, it’s Eddie who’s built on that foundation for decades now. His artistry is on vivid display in two of the latest Wild Turkey releases — both of which, alas, are harder to find and a lot more expensive than the flagship 101, but he makes sure you get your money’s worth.
Russell’s Reserve happens to be a separate entity from Wild Turkey (you won’t find mention of the former on the latter’s online page), but it is part of the WT family. And of course, Jimmy and Eddie Russell’s names are all over the bottles. For more than 20 years, Russell’s Reserve bottlings have existed as a slightly more complicated variation on the Wild Turkey theme, peppered with some truly notable releases like single vintage bourbons from 1998 and 2002 and an ongoing Single Rickhouse collection. In 2021, they released a thirteen-year-old barrel-aged bourbon, which is now commonplace. The third and final batch of Russell’s Reserve 13 Year Old Bourbon, a non-chilled filtered beauty, at 57. 4% ABV, is rich and sumptuous, with big notes of melted chocolate, raisins, dried figs, candied orange and a bit of cinnamon . Lest things get too sweet, the finish is reminiscent of oak and leather, with a hint of alcoholic heat, but not enough to require water. It’s the best drink in the winter, but I can attest that it’s also very smart in the summer.
Wild Turkey’s Master’s Keep series, introduced in 2015, is Eddie Russell’s playground: a chance to experiment with aging and finishing whiskeys in a way his father probably won’t approve of. At least in theory. Not all of the Master’s Tower has been preserved, but it has resulted in traffic jams so tight that not even Jimmy Russell could enjoy its charms. The Wild Turkey Master’s Journey to the Tower is among the most productive. It’s a 10-year-old building Bourbon was finished in Appleton Estate rum barrels over an undisclosed period of time (estimated to be 10 to 12 weeks) and bottled to 53% ABV (Wild Turkey and Appleton are owned by Campari).
But this is not just any rum from Appleton Estate. The products they bottle and sell are a mix of column and distillery rums. Eddie Russell, working with Appleton master blender Joy Spence, decided on barrels that have been used to age 14-year-old distilled rum. What is the difference ? Distilled rum is more complex and flavorful than lighter column rum, and this translates into bourbon. The adventure is, in a word, wonderful. In a word, delicious. I’ll give you one more: magnificent. The rum barrels complement the bourbon without overpowering it, so while you find notes of tropical fruits like overripe banana, as well as brown sugar and dried fruit, the bourbon’s dry oak and sweet vanilla notes don’t overpower. It doesn’t get lost in the mix. Appleton is a Jamaican brand, but it doesn’t produce the funky, high-ester rums that the island is known for among rum fans. Still, I can swear I tasted a bit of earthy funk at the end, which is rarely such a bad thing.
These bourbons don’t come cheap. Russell’s Reserve thirteen is $150 and Master’s Keep is $275, and that’s before stores and the secondary market pass the value. It’s comforting to know that in case of need, a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 can be found for between $25 and $30. But if you’re feeling blushing and fit to hunt, it’s worth locating those two bottles.