The Year of Wild Turkey

What a year! I think it’s fair to say that 2024 was THE year for Wild Turkey. In fact, I’m unsure we’ll see another year like it. From noteworthy special releases to a record-setting anniversary, it was arguably the best twelve months to be a Turkey fan. Let’s take a look back and see what this year had to offer and what it might mean for 2025 and beyond.

The Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience

Back in 2014, Wild Turkey unveiled its beautifully designed and constructed visitors center. It quickly became an iconic spot on the Bourbon Trail, with its portrait-like views of the Kentucky River and the frequently photographed ascension to the second floor. By 2020, distilleries were facing temporary shutdowns and limited customer interaction due to the global pandemic. It seemed a perfect time to spruce the place up. Surprisingly, the remodel took over three years to complete. 

In the interim, the Station Master’s House, Wild Turkey’s original visitors center, welcomed tourists and bourbon enthusiasts. I found it an interesting change of pace (at least temporarily), offering a more intimate, albeit scaled-back experience. And let’s be honest, if the visitors center was just a tent with Jimmy Russell in it, would you really care?

By the spring of 2024, the remodeled visitors center, now officially named The Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience, was ready for the public. The scenic views and photographic hot spots remained, but the rest was completely reimagined and refurbished. I had the opportunity to visit in May with a group of fellow whiskey writers. Eddie and Bruce Russell led us on a campus tour, which concluded with a dinner and surprise tasting of Master’s Keep Triumph at the VC’s pavilion. Needless to say, everyone in our group was impressed – with the property and the whiskey. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Kentucky, be sure to place The Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience at the top of your list.

Master’s Keep Triumph

Ten-year-old Kentucky rye whiskey, while certainly not rare, isn’t something I’d consider commonplace. When it comes to Wild Turkey, a rye with a double-digit age statement didn’t even exist prior to this year. Sure, there was Master’s Keep Cornerstone, with its combination of nine- and 11-year stocks, but it still lacked that big “1-0.” Given the brand’s limited rye past, one could easily understand the excitement when the decade-old Master’s Keep Triumph was announced in 2023. 

The release of Master’s Keep Triumph was a genuine milestone, as Wild Turkey’s former parent company, Austin Nichols & Co., had sourced rye whiskey from various producers from the 1940s through the early 1980s. To offer a 10-year-old rye distilled, aged, and bottled by the Russells themselves, that meant something to Wild Turkey fans. It also helped that Eddie Russell’s son, Wild Turkey’s “Rye Guy” Bruce Russell, was involved with the project. 

Ultimately, the whiskey received positive reviews, as it showcased flavors and textures seldom found in everyday Wild Turkey rye expressions. The single universal criticism was Triumph’s retail price. At $300, it proved a slow-mover in many areas. With the reintroduction of rye barrels back into Wild Turkey’s private barrel program, an extremely competitive rye market in 2024 (Bulleit 12, countless 11+ year MGP offerings, etc.), not to mention the release of Russell’s 15 immediately following Triumph (and at $50 less), it’s fair to say that the timing could’ve been better. 

On the positive side, Triumph can still be found with a little hunting – often at its suggested retail price. While dropping $300 on a single whiskey is rarely ideal, if you want to own a piece of Wild Turkey history you can’t deny the significance of Master’s Keep Triumph. Let’s hope to see more new rye ground being broken in 2025. (And I’m pretty sure it will happen if Bruce has anything to do with it.)

Russell’s Reserve 15-Year

Forget the year-end Top 10 lists. Forget the major awards from major publications or popular social media accounts. Forget the hype in every sense of the word. Be it inside or outside of a vacuum, a 15-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon distilled and bottled by a heritage distillery is always something to take note of. 

When the label approval for Russell’s Reserve 15-Year hit the TTB COLA registry in 2023, bourbon hounds went berserk. Dare I say that Russell’s 15 was the most highly anticipated Wild Turkey release of all time? Sure. I’ll say it and stand behind it. Of course, the expectations were so high it seemed impossible the profile could satisfy the excitement fostered prior to its release. Yet, it did. Even when folks learned the whiskey wasn’t barrel proof at 117.2, as many including myself had first assumed, it didn’t matter. Russell’s 15 is that damn good. Hell, let’s just call it perfect, because to me that’s exactly what it is. 

For those who lucked out and found a bottle of Russell’s 15, congrats. Enjoy every last drop. Savor it, share it, and when you do, know that you’re sipping one of the best whiskey expressions ever distilled and bottled out of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. And for those who choose to claim (or worse, advertise) that the massive volumes of Frankfort distilled 15-year bourbon presently on the wholesale market is the same as Russell’s 15, kindly troll another brand. There’s only one Russell’s 15 and it was crafted solely by Anderson County’s finest.

Russell’s Reserve 10-Year (LL/ME)

The surprise of the year arrived in such an unexpected fashion, I had to pinch myself several times to believe it myself. By now I’m sure most of you reading have heard of the “LL/ME” coded Russell’s Reserve 10-Year. If you haven’t, you must be living under a rock because it’s everywhere – YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, etc., etc. If you enjoy bourbon content regularly, you’ve heard “LL/ME” a good bit (probably more than you want to). But before words like “hype” and “controversy” entered the scene, it was a fun and rewarding chase. I have my Patreon supporters to thank for that, as I’d all but written off Russell’s 10 as a casual sipper until a few months ago. 

I’ll refrain from diving into the profile and its exceptionality. There’s a full review you can check out if you want additional insight. Instead, I’d like to briefly clear the air on this topic as rumors have run rampant. First, when I speculated that Russell’s 10 LL/ME might be composed of some leftover barrels from Russell’s 15 (because it tastes that way), I stressed with emphasis that it was purely speculation and should be taken as such. I arrived at that hypothesis based on the fact that LL/ME was bottled shortly after Russell’s 15. 

Not too long after publishing my review, I traveled to Kentucky and talked to Bruce Russell. Bruce assured me that any leftover barrels from the Russell’s 15 project were reserved for future projects. That being said, whiskey older than 10 years sometimes makes its way into Russell’s 10. This has been confirmed on more than one occasion by Eddie Russell, who has stated on the record that Russell’s 10 often contained 13-year-old bourbon prior to 2020. 

As for the LL/ME bottlings of Russell’s Reserve 10-Year (ME17, 19, and 20), they do indeed contain older whiskey – whiskey much older than 10 years. You don’t have to believe me but it’s the truth. At the end of the day it’s a $40 bottle. If you can’t find your money’s worth in the LL/ME profile at that low of price, this may not be the hobby for you. And if you’re paying secondary for modern-day Russell’s 10 please save your money. Wild Turkey has plenty of barrels aging gracefully and Russell’s 10 isn’t going anywhere.

Jimmy Russell’s 70th Anniversary

One might call it the most impressive accomplishment in bourbon history – Jimmy Russell’s 70th Anniversary. Hell, it is. (Name another. I’ll wait.) For someone to work in the same field for 70 years is impressive enough, but to do so and become a master of your craft all at the same distillery you started at on Day 1 … It’s a feat that will likely never be repeated. And Jimmy continues to work to this day. I guess you could say that September 10, 2024 was just another day for the self-professed “country boy.”

For such a momentous occasion, it wouldn’t have been unusual for Campari to create a truly rare and equally momentous limited-edition bourbon – one that would cost hundreds of dollars and be nearly impossible to find. Most brands would. Instead, they took the time to tailor a release that captured not only the essence of Jimmy Russell, but what his fans love about him – his no-frills appreciation for Wild Turkey’s foundation: eight-year-old bourbon bottled at 101 proof. It’s been said countless times, if Jimmy Russell was King of the Land, the only whiskey he’d bottle would be Wild Turkey 101/8. 

Jimmy Russell’s 70th Anniversary Wild Turkey 101 checks about every box a Turkey fan could want. It’s “core Turkey” at its finest – vanilla, caramel, oak, and baking spice with impeccable balance. And for $50, it’s a no-brainer. Sadly, most bottles have long been “gobbled up” by now. It’s the downside to an affordable, yet desirable LTO release – most consumers can easily purchase multiple bottles (meaning others miss out). Even so, I hope that Campari views this type of release as a success to be repeated. While I have no issue with expensive LTOs (it’s only smart for a brand to exist in every price tier), an affordable and available LTO released annually would be a dream come true for most whiskey enthusiasts.

Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse CNB

Just when you thought Wild Turkey had finished its to-do list for 2024, the third release in the Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse series hit select markets. For this year’s edition, the Russells relied on the top floors of Camp Nelson’s rickhouse B, which had proven itself a fan-favorite aging location for Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel private selections in 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, Single Rickhouses CNB’s $300 suggested retail price saw it facing the same value criticism as Master’s Keep Triumph. 

Price aside, the bourbon is undoubtedly exceptional. I’ve been a fan of Camp Nelson B since I first tasted what it had to offer two years ago. Was I thrilled with paying $300 after spending only $50 on Jimmy’s 70th or even $250 on Russell’s 15? No, but I paid nevertheless and appreciated the profile that Eddie and Bruce put their hearts into. And if you think about it, Single Rickhouse CNB was never meant to compete with other 2024 Wild Turkey expressions. It was simply the third in the Single Rickhouse series, which exists to showcase the spirit identity or profile DNA of specific Wild Turkey maturation locations. Just like previous Single Rickhouse editions, the Russells did an outstanding job.

Wrapping Up 

Whether or not you agree with every aspect of my synopsis of 2024, I think you’ll agree that this was a banner year for Wild Turkey. But there’s something else for you to consider – you, as fans and loyal consumers, played an undeniable role in its success. It’s my hope that Campari recognizes the motivations and passions of their greater consumer base – the soul of the fandom, if you will. 

I’d wager that most of you reading have, to some degree or another, a personal connection to this historic brand. Every cork you pop, every visit you make, every barrel you have the pleasure of tasting, is all part of a rewarding internal experience, immeasurable in money or words. If Campari can tap into that more often I see only great things for Wild Turkey in 2025. And with three generations of Russells remaining at the helm, how can it not? 

While it’s hard to imagine a better year than the one we just experienced, it’s not impossible either. Who knows what might be sleeping in Tyrone, Camp Nelson, or McBrayer’s storied rickhouses? Maybe 2024 was just scratching the surface. Time will tell, but for now I’ll pour a glass of Jimmy’s 70th 101 and revel in the glory we have. The New Golden Age of Wild Turkey is here – has been since I first started this blog in 2016. Enjoy it while you can. 

Cheers and have a happy and safe New Year!

dj

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