Like a familiar melody that’s played through generations of special events and low-key evenings with close friends, it stays with you. And just like a favorite song, Wild Turkey finds its rhythm one note at a time.
Bruce Russell, Wild Turkey’s Associate Master Blender, has seen firsthand how impactful that symphony of flavors can be. His grandfather, Jimmy Russell, started working at the distillery that would become Wild Turkey 71 years ago.
The family legacy continued with Jimmy’s son Eddie (Bruce’s father), who came onboard in 1981. Bruce joined the family band at 21 when his father suggested he start giving distillery tours.
There’s a reason Jimmy Russell’s name is synonymous with Wild Turkey’s mainstay. He’s the patriarch of the brand. The leader of the band.
Bruce had always seen his grandfather as a rockstar. “As a kid, I started to notice things about his travels, like him meeting a prime minister of a country, or he got invited to sit in on the national tournament for sumo wrestling,” he says. “What really cemented it was when Dad went with my grandfather to Japan for the first time.
There were pictures of these people all packed in front of a bar, holding signs like it was a rockstar concert, but with Jimmy’s name on them. That’s when I realized, ‘This is next level.’”
“Warehouse A is the oldest warehouse we have on site, and it’s the place I grew up. When I was little on summer holiday or Christmas break, I’d go to work with my dad and I would be running around because it was so close,” he says. “When I first started working, that was the place me and Dad would go around 3:30 when everybody else was leaving.
We would slip over to A and try three four barrels. We’d give each other tasting notes and just kind of hang out, talk about life. That place means a lot to me. It's where we built our bond early on.”
Just like any great band, a strong lineup is paramount. It’s the players that come together to make the music that create a lasting legacy. At Wild Turkey, that applies to both the product and the people behind it. From iconic blends to iconic blenders, Wild Turkey has always been in perfect harmony.
“When things are working right in whiskey, it’s like jazz,” Bruce Russell says. “It's organized chaos in the same way that good jazz music is. There are so many things going on, and you can’t control all of it, like Mother Nature. You've got to find that right moment to put that stuff in a bottle and get it out there to people. That’s what we do so well at Wild Turkey.”
To enjoy the Wild Turkey 101 8-year, we recommend neat or on the rocks, but for a special occasion, we paired Bruce Russell with Chris Leavitt, social media creator @notjustabartender, for a collaboration that showcases the range of the whiskey.
Here’s how the two make a Left Hand.
Whiskey, like music, is a great connector. For Bruce and his father, it was the missing link in an unfinished composition. “My dad is not a man of many words. After I gave a tour, he took me to the distillery to learn and we spent five hours together. He talked almost the entire time. I've made the joke plenty of times that if we hung out five hours that afternoon, that's four hours and 55 more minutes than he’d ever talked in my life. It might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.”
“He said, ‘You could just tell them you're Jimmy's grandson and everybody will clap and give you tips,” he laughs. “It wasn't until I started working at the distillery that I understood what they did. I didn't plan on getting into the industry. I just fell in love with it the same way I think they did.”
A great bourbon
IN
Perfect
harmony
Bruce Russell stakes his claim as the latest in a legendary line of whiskey makers with Wild Turkey’s new 101 8-Year
Written By Alison Abbey Hudak
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN CHRISTENSEN
whiskey is like a
great song.
it evokes emotion,
brings people
together and hits
all the right
notes.
bruce russell
3rd Generation Distiller
Now he's bringing his own flavor to the brand by helming the U.S. relaunch of a classic: Wild Turkey 101 8-Year-Old Bourbon pays homage to the original Wild Turkey 101, which was famously bottled after eight years of aging.
Wild Turkey 101 8-Year
bruce and his dad
found their common
ground in one
particular building
on the distillery’s
turkey hill.
“there's A
“you've got to
find that right
moment to put
that stuff in a
bottle and get it
out there to
the people.”
Drink Responsibly. Don’t share with anyone underage. Wild Turkey Distilling Co., Lawrenceburg, KY. ©2025 Campari America, New York, NY.
wild turkey distillery
Lawrenceberg, Kentucky
“We couldn’t be more excited that 8-Year is coming back. Now, in my opinion, we don’t have any holes in our lineup. We've got everything we need,” Russell says. “When I was growing up, this was the one that everybody talked about. It's what we built our brand on. Our Wild Turkey 101 is spicy and bold and prickly. It’s not subtle. It doesn’t ease into itself. It's quintessential Jimmy Russell whiskey. The 8-Year has had its edges rounded off. There’s dark fruit, like plum, there's medicinal cherry. There's a lot of caramel, toffee and cocoa. It's rich and decadent.”
Ingredients
1.5oz Wild Turkey 101 8 Year
.75oz Campari
3-4 dashes of chocolate bitters
.25oz creme de cacao
.75oz sweet vermouth
Wild turkey distillery
Lawrenceberg, Kentucky
Shop wild turkey 8-Year-old
Buy Now
Left hand
1 Serving
Combine all ingredients into a stirring vessel, add ice, stir and strain over a large block of ice in a rocks glass.
Garnish with an expressed orange peel and shaved chocolate.
directions
Wild Turkey
does just that.
It starts with water straight from the Kentucky River. Then the yeast—an original proprietary strain that’s been used in Wild Turkey for decades. Next, non-GMO grains add some grit and groove. Then it’s up to production: white oak barrels burned with the deepest char, and time—at least five years—make each bottle of Wild Turkey something to be savored.
FRUIT, LIKE PLUM,
decadent,
and almost
dessert.”
Wild Turkey
does just that.
it evokes
building on
the distillery's
bruce and his dad
dad found
“you've got to
“you've got to
find that right
right moment
to put that
stuff in a
bottle and
get it out
there to the
A great bourbon whiskey is
like a great song. it evokes
emotion, brings people together
and hits all the right notes.
Buy Now
Buy Now
LOT OF
CARAMEL,
TOFFEE, AND
COCOA.
IT'S RICH AND
DECADENT.”
and decadent.”
IN
Perfect
harmony
Bruce Russell stakes his claim as the latest in a legendary line of whiskey makers with Wild Turkey’s new 101 8-Year
Written By Alison Abbey Hudak
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN CHRISTENSEN