Wild Turkey is one of the gems of the American whiskey industry and home to a family dynasty that spans three generations. Recently, Matt was invited to Kentucky to visit the distillery and new visitor centre, which are about one hour’s drive south of Louisville, and meet the names behind the brand.
When driving through Kentucky in May you could almost think you were in Scotland. Green rolling hills and farms zip by. But once you hit the town of Lawrenceburg, where the Wild Turkey distillery is located, this changes. Now you are definitely NOT in Scotland. The quaint main street is lined on either side with old colonial buildings, each adorned with a fluttering Stars & Stripes flag. Now you know that you are well and truly in Kentucky – the heartbeat of the American whiskey industry.
Wild Turkey is located on the edge of Lawrenceburg and is one of two distilleries in the town – Four Roses is the other. It is a huge facility and a site that boasts a distillery capable of producing a staggering 41.5 million litres (11 million US gallons) of whiskey per year, 32 rick houses (that’s the American name for a whiskey warehouse) and a brand-new visitor centre to welcome tourists and whiskey fans alike.
The Wild turkey brand has a slightly unorthodox history. It was first bottled by spirits wholesaler Austin Nichols in 1941 and featured whiskey from the Old Hickory distillery in Tyrone, Kentucky. Its origin is said to have come from the previous year when an Austin Nichols executive took some cask samples for guests on a turkey shoot. When he got asked back the following year, he was asked to bring more of “that wild turkey bourbon”. The rest is history.
Fast forward 70 years and Wild Turkey is now one of the best-selling and most-awarded bourbon whiskey brands in the world. The current distillery was built in 2010, just one year after owners Gruppo Campari took control of the brand. They are also in the process of building a massive extension which is due to open in 2026 and will increase capacity by 50%. Most of the time is spent producing their famous bourbon, with 2-3 days per month allocated to the production of rye whiskey.
Our guide was Bruce Russell, the brand’s Associate Blender, who took us through each stage of the whiskey making process. Wild Turkey bourbon has a mash bill – the name given to the mixture of cereals used – of 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley. Their rye whiskey on the other hand has a mash bill of 52% rye, 36% corn and 12% malted barley. The first part of the process for making their bourbon, which was what was being sees the cereals are put through a hammer mill – this apparatus is common in American whiskey production and gives a courser grind than a Scottish roller mill. It is also often used in brewing beer.
The cereals are cooked, rather than mashed as they are in Scotland, to extract the desired enzymes and sugars. This is a key difference between whiskey production in America and elsewhere. The corn takes the longest time and requires the highest temperature (around 200C), then the rye is added and the temperature lowered, and finally the malted barley. The temperature is lowered further.
The mash is cooled before being transferred to an open top fermenters (these are called washbacks in Scotland). There are 24 of these at Wild Turkey and each holds a whopping 30,000 US gallons (113,500 litres). The proprietary yeast strain, which is recorded to date from just after Prohibition, is added and left for just over three days (78-80 hours). This converts all natural sugars to alcohol with the result a 12-15% ABV ‘beer’ – this is higher than wash produced in Scotland, which is around 7-8% ABV.
The still at Wild Turkey is absolutely HUGE. There are no picturesque copper pot stills here as you find in a Scotch single malt distillery. This is a column still standing 52 feet tall (15.8 metres) but with just a 5-foot diameter (1.5 metre). It is operated 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The alcoholic beer is heated, solids and all, and evaporates before being condensed back to a higher percentage spirit.
The first distillate is redistilled a second time.The distillery runs the still at a very high temperature to create the desired lower strength of spirit (the legal maximum for bourbon is 160 Proof/ 80% ABV). Wild Turkey comes off its second distillation at 130 Proof/ 65% ABV). This is then reduced further to 115 Proof/ 57.5% ABV with water, before being put to barrel for maturation. Oh, and when we say ‘very high temperature’, we mean it – that still house was the hottest EVER. It was absolutely roasting in there.
Next is a visit to Rickhouse A, which dates from the 1880s. They have 32 in total on site, which are massive and have many casks stored on racking. The ones at Wild Turkey are five storeys high and can hold 15,000 barrels at any one time. The temperature rises with each storey as you climb up. They also have several palletised rickhouses, where casks are stacked up to the roof. These hold 20,000 barrels. The scale is immense. Our group was treated to a sampling straight from two barrels – both eight years old, one bourbon and one rye.
Brands such as Wild Turkey supply their used barrels to many locations once emptied. The law states that bourbon can only be matured in new American oak, therefore casks cannot be used a second time. This may seem like a waste, but many go to Scotland to be filled with Scotch whisky. Also, to Ireland, Japan and other whisky producing countries. Other outlets include the Caribbean for rum maturation, France for Cognac and Mexico for tequila and mezcal.
The newly opened visitor centre is excellent also – contemporary, welcoming and uses the space well. You have to drive past the imposing distillery buildings to reach it and it overlooks the Kentucky River. What a great spot. The visitor centre is named after Jimmy Russell, the legendary Bourbon Hall of Famer who began working at the distillery in 1954 and still visits almost daily. He was there on the day of our visit too, greeting and chatting with visitors and signing bottles. His son Eddie (who began at the distillery in 1981) is the current Master Distiller, with his grandson Bruce, our guide, waiting in the wings. The Russells are a true whiskey dynasty and it was a pleasure to meet them all.
The visitor centre is impressive and features a digital timeline wall. This tracks the history of Wild Turkey and the Russells from the brand’s inception back in the 1940s. There is also a mezzanine bar that gives fantastic views to the Kentucky River and serves some great cocktails (both classic and contemporary), two bespoke tasting rooms and a well-stocked shop. There is also a lovely outdoor space with fire pit and dining area for enjoying a cocktail or two at leisure.
The Wild Turkey distillery forms part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, with the new visitor centre one of its prized jewels. The Trail was founded in 1999 by the Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA) with just seven distilleries, including Wild Turkey. Now, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, it has expanded that number to 46. This includes traditional names, rejuvenated brands and craft artisinal distillers. The Trail attracts 2.5 million people per year and is a massive boost to Kentucky’s economy, contributing an estimated $9 million.
This visit to Wild Turkey was great and anyone of you that are in Kentucky definitely need to swing by for a tour and tasting. You will get the warmest of welcomes, generous pours and see everything for yourself. It was also fascinating to swap the familiarity of the Scotch whisky process with that of bourbon, and witness the key differences at every stage. A huge thank you to Bruce for his amazing insight and knowledge, and to the rest of the team for making everything so memorable.
Visitor Information
- Visitor Centre opening hours – Monday & Tuesday: closed, Wednesday to Saturday: 9am – 5pm, Sunday: midday to 4pm. Also closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
- Last pour at the cocktail bar one hour before Visitor Centre closing time.
- Tours – Distillery Tour: $25 daily, Wild Turkey Premium Bourbon Tasting: $45 daily, Russell’s Reserve Connoisseur Whiskey Tasting: $45 daily, Russell’s Reserve Immersive Experience: $65 selected dates only.
- Tickets available to purchase in advance via the Wild Turkey website.
- For further information on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
