Wild Turkey Bourbon Honors Jimmy Russel’s seventieth Anniversary

Wild Turkey Distilling Co. has raised a glass to grasp distiller Jimmy Russell, who this month celebrated his 70^th anniversary with the distillery. Russell first stepped foot within the distillery on September 10, 1954, and over the next years, his steadfast and generally cussed dedication to creating bourbon has cemented Wild Turkey as a world-class model and helped to drive the success that the bourbon trade enjoys immediately. To thank him, the group at Wild Turkey marked the milestone with a celebration together with the discharge of Wild Turkey Jimmy Russell’s 70^th Anniversary 8-12 months-Outdated Bourbon.

Russell’s earliest days on the distillery had been spent sweeping the flooring at age 18. He rose by means of the ranks to develop into grasp distiller. Within the Nineteen Seventies and ’80s when the bourbon trade was near collapse, Russell stayed the course. Shoppers had been favoring lighter spirits, however he refused to dilute his bourbon; embracing the pre-prohibition type that he discovered from his mentor and predecessor Invoice Hughes, Russell “didn’t change a rattling factor.” His method helped propel the recognition of lots of the distillery’s traditional bourbons, together with Wild Turkey 101. That’s why the distillery now celebrates Russell’s milestone and legacy with a commemorative 101-proof bourbon tailor-made to his style.

Wild Turkey Jimmy Russell’s 70^th Anniversary 8-12 months-Outdated Bourbon options 8-year-old, 101-proof bourbon, together with an extra mix of 8- to 9-year-old whiskeys.

This bourbon has aromas of oak, honey, cinnamon and tobacco, the distillery studies, with tasting notes of candy cream, butterscotch and black tea notes that transition to bitter chocolate, darkish cherry and burnt sugar. The limited-edition launch rolls out this fall for a recommended retail worth of US $50 per 750-ml. bottle.

Russell’s listing of accomplishments is so long as his profession thus far. He was one of many first to introduce many modern whiskeys that at the moment are trade mainstays, together with a barrel-proof bourbon with the discharge of Wild Turkey Uncommon Breed and a single barrel launch with Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit. He was additionally the primary to introduce a honey flavored bourbon liqueur, American Honey. Nevertheless, he’s most recognized for perfecting the recipe for Wild Turkey 101, the center and soul of the Wild Turkey portfolio. Russell was named to the Kentucky Bourbon Corridor of Fame in 2000 and has been honored with numerous titles throughout his tenure. He was anointed a Kentucky Colonel by three standing Commonwealth of Kentucky Governors, honored with a Decision by the Kentucky State Meeting and the Governor, and obtained the important thing to Lawrenceburg. Russell can be well-known for touring the world with the opposite titans of the bourbon trade, as they unfold the phrase of bourbon and helped gasoline the trade.

Russell has obtained many accolades all through the previous seven a long time, however Wild Turkey wished to rejoice him in a brand new means on his 70^th anniversary. Along with creating the limited-edition bourbon, Wild Turkey honored Russell simply as lots of historical past’s best artists, musicians, athletes and heroes have been immortalized earlier than – by commissioning a portrait of Russell to personify his icon standing inside American whiskey tradition. Photographer Danny Clinch, who has photographed among the world’s most influential celebrities, rock stars and performers, captured the portrait of Russell in Kentucky.

Followers can study extra about Russell’s legacy and historical past on the newly renovated Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Expertise in Lawrenceburg, KY.

“In my eyes, I’ve by no means labored a day in my life. The day I do, I’ll retire,” Russell says. “Till then, I’m going to proceed making the bourbon I like.”

This follows the latest launch of Wild Turkey Grasp’s Maintain Triumph rye whiskey.