Wild Turkey is a major brand of bourbon whiskey made near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The distillery is most famous for the broad market Wild Turkey 81 and Wild Turkey 101 whiskeys. In addition to these, other notable offerings include Wild Turkey Rye, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, and Russell’s Reserve. No matter if you are on our Whiskey Trail Itinerary or just stopping into one distillery, Wild Turkey has something to offer. The following is a review of the Wild Turkey Distillery.
History
The Wild Turkey Distillery can trace its history to the Old Hickory Distillery built in 1891. The Old Hickory Distillery was a contract distillery meaning that they sold their whiskey to wholesalers who bottled it under other labels. One of these wholesalers was Austin Nichols who would eventually buy the Old Hickory Distillery and change the name. The Wild Turkey name is said to have originated when Austin was on a turkey hunt and brought some of the whiskey. The friends who accompanied Austin on the hunt asked for the “Wild Turkey Bourbon”, and the name stuck.
Much of the growth of the Wild Turkey brand has occurred under the leadership of Master Distiller Jimmy Russell. Jimmy joined Wild Turkey in 1954. Jimmy continues to hold the title of Master Distiller to this day making him one of the longest-tenured Master Distillers in the world. Eddie Russell, the son of Jimmy, joined Wild Turkey in 1981. Eddie was officially promoted to Master Distillery in 2015 which makes Jimmy and Eddie the only active father/son Master Distiller duo in the world.
Tour, Tasting, or Something Else?
Wild Turkey offers both tours and tasting experiences. Each of these experiences starts at a recently renovated visitor’s center. This visitor’s center does a good job of combining a traditional Kentucky rickhouse or barn outline with more modern glass, wood, and steel materials. There is plenty of parking available for all guests just outside the visitor’s center.
Upon entering the visitor’s center, guests are greeted by the store. All varieties of bourbon and a vast range of Wild Turkey branded merchandise are spread everywhere. Merchandise sales are a major profit center for the whiskey trail visitor’s centers so it’s not uncommon to see this type of spread. Check-in for the tours and tastings is done at the counter in the store. While Wild Turkey will try to accommodate walk-ins, it’s uncommon for them to be able to. The vast majority of the spots in the tours and tastings sell out. Therefore, it is recommended to get a reservation ahead of time. See below for more information on getting a reservation. If you don’t have a reservation, you can still walk the exhibits in the visitor’s center. There is also a bar onsite that offers pours of Wild Turkey whiskey for purchase.
In addition to the store, there are some good exhibits on the history of Wild Turkey. These exhibits range from the recipe for Wild Turkey and the history of the brand to personal exhibits on Jimmy and Eddie Russell. Visitors are bound to learn something new about the brand that they didn’t know before visiting. These exhibits make for a good time killer while waiting for tours and tastings to begin.
Tour
The tour at Wild Turkey takes guests on a quick visit to the distillery. The distillery isn’t located near the visitor’s center so a bus will pick up guests and ferry them to the distillery. In the distillery, visitors are able to see key parts of the whiskey-making process from grain receiving to the cookers and fermentation. Due to Wild Turkey’s size, this is a major industrial operation. There are none of the cypress wood fermentation tubs that you might find at a Maker’s Mark. The fermentation room is at least twenty stainless steel tubs all creating the Wild Turkey product at one time.
The tour includes a lot of information about Jimmy and Eddie Russell and how they like to make whiskey. Further on in the tour, the industrial feel of the operation increases with a stop at the control room for the distillery. This room is filled with screens and switches allowing two people to control the entire operation from one place. The final stop on the tour covers barreling. From one spot, visitors can see barrels coming in off the trucks, being filled on an assembly line, and then going into other trucks to be taken to aging warehouses.
Finally, at the end of the tour, guests generally get to taste a couple of the whiskeys.
Tasting
The tastings at Wild Turkey are conducted in the second-floor tasting room of the visitor’s center. This glass-enclosed room provides great vantage points overlooking the Kentucky River. Unfortunately, the glass does cause some viewing issues in the early morning as it is positioned well for sunlight to come through the windows. Despite the sun, the tasting is nice in that it gives visitors an opportunity to test some of Wild Turkey’s rare options. You are unlikely to get Wild Turkey 81 or 101 in your tasting. Instead, you will get pours like Kentucky Spirit, Russel’s Reserve Single Barrel, and Rare Breed Rye.
The best part of the tasting is the tasting notes provided by the guide. Most of the time these guides are very personable and provide a lot of information about the distillery as you sample the products. Overall, I was happy with the tasting experience when I was able to experience it in the Fall of 2021.
Something Else
If you aren’t wanting to do an organized tour or tasting at Wild Turkey, self-directed tastings are always an option. There is a small bar onsite at the back of the visitor’s center. The bar only offers pours of whiskey and no cocktails. The sizes are a normal size pour that you could get at a restaurant or bar. Therefore, they aren’t small tasting pours. If you are in a group, you could pass them around to sample. There is also a nice outdoor space and a back patio. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the Kentucky air (and weather depending on the time of year). If you aren’t able to snag a reservation, this is a perfect way to have an enjoyable Wild Turkey experience. Even if you can get a reservation, this is an option to consider if you want to stay on a budget.
Reservation Process
Reservations for Wild Turkey tours and tastings can be made online at the Wild Turkey Distillery website. The busiest times of the year for tours and tastings are the summer and fall. During these times, reservations can fill up several months in advance. I recommend booking at least 3 months out during all times of the year. However, if you are going during peak season, consider booking earlier.
Current Update: As of September 2022, the visitor’s center at Wild Turkey is undergoing renovations. Because of this, tours and tastings are not being offered. The distillery has temporarily setup a pop-up shop and bar at the Station Master’s house on the property (1525 Tyrone Road, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky). They are offering merchandise and cocktails for purchase.
Cost
One of the downsides, in my opinion, to the Wild Turkey experiences is the cost. Tours and tastings are currently being offered for more than $37 per person. For comparison, Buffalo Trace offers tours and tastings for free. Bulleit which has a very similar operation offers tours for $22 per person. Even Four Roses (which I consider to be a better whiskey) offers tours and tastings for $18 per person. As you can see, Wild Turkey charges a lot more than the competition despite being a lesser brand (in my opinion).
Take this pricing difference into account when choosing what to do. For those who want to keep the cost low, consider a self-directed sampling. For about $12 – $14 per pour, a group could sample 3 whiskeys (the same as a tasting) and get double the volume of the sample. Visitors would obviously lose out on the historical video and tour guide, but otherwise going this route is very tempting for me in the future.
