Wild Turkey’s master distiller, Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Russell, is celebrating his 35th anniversary on the job this year. Which is a justifiably big deal, sure. But at Wild Turkey, Eddie’s still the new kid on the block. His father, the even more legendary Jimmy Russell, started working there in 1954, and he’s still going strong. It makes Eddie seem a bit like the Prince Charles of the bourbon world, forever the king-in-waiting. But he’s carving out his own niche with the Master’s Keep series. Launched in 2015, Master’s Keep was, at 17 years old, the oldest bourbon ever released by Wild Turkey. Jimmy has told me that he considers a bourbon’s sweet spot to be 6-8 years old, so Master’s Keep is pretty obviously Eddie’s baby. The new followup, Decades, is even more antiquated, in part at least. It contains a blend of bourbons aged from 10-20 years, said to be from “some of the rarest and most precious barrels in our stocks,” according to Russell the younger.
When it comes to super-annuated bourbon, I’m on the fence. You can wind up with a rich, deep, mellow gem... or a one-dimensional, overly tannic mess that all but gives you splinters on your tongue when you sip it. Fortunately, Eddie didn’t slip up here — Decades is a very fine bourbon. It’s recognizably Wild Turkey, with the same notes of caramel and char you’ll find in their standard 101 expression, but with more prominent peppery spice and oak due to those extra years of aging. It’s bottled at a hefty-but-not-too-hefty 104 proof, which keeps the tannins in check a bit and helps the other flavors — dark fruits, vanilla, a touch of menthol — pop a little more. At $150, it’s on the pricey side, but it makes for a nice special occasion whiskey.
Wild Turkey recently unleashed another pair of exciting new bourbons — not that you’d know from looking at the labels, which sport names unfamiliar to all but the most dedicated American whiskey historians. They’re the inaugural releases in what Campari, Wild Turkey’s parent company, is calling the Whiskey Barons series. I know, I know, at heart it’s a pretty slick marketing ploy. But I’m a sucker for trying to capture the past in a bottle, whether it’s vintage stuff or, in this case, recreations of long-gone brands. Old Ripy was made in Lawrenceburg, KY — near the site of the current Wild Turkey distillery, in fact — from 1868 to 1950. Bond & Lillard goes back to 1869; it won a Grand Prize at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, and survived at least into the 1960s based on evidence I could find.
I’ve never tasted either bourbon in its original incarnation (if you’ve got an old-school bottle and want to share, get in touch!). The press release says they’re “painstakingly piecing together these lost gems with the help of living members of those noble distilling families, historic records, tasting notes, and talented distillers,” albeit without input from Jimmy or Eddie Russell. But the vast majority of us are never going to get to find out how close the revived brands are to the originals. So the big question is not are they accurate, but are they tasty?
The answer in both cases is “absolutely.” Both Old Ripy and Bond & Lillard were made with Wild Turkey whiskey, but they’ve been tinkered with enough to have their own distinct flavor. Bond & Lillard is aged at least seven years, and it’s charcoal filtered, which gives it a somewhat lighter flavor. It’s a sweet bourbon, heavy on the vanilla and toffee notes, along with fruity notes of apricots and orange peel. The finish is terrific — dry but not too dry, lightly oaky but not overwhelmingly so. Old Ripy is a blend of eight year old, 12 year old, and “younger whiskeys for added complexity and oak,” which means... I have no idea. The older blend and the non-chill filtering make Old Ripy a little darker and a little heavier than Bond & Lillard, with more oak and peppery spice, along with cinnamon and pecan. It’s a warming bourbon that evokes a feeling of chilly autumn and winter nights... although I can personally attest that it tastes very nice in the spring, too. Old Ripy comes in at 104 proof, while Bond & Lillard is bottled at 100 proof.
Like Decades, Old Ripy and Bond & Lillard aren’t cheap — $50 for 375 ml, half the size of a standard bottle. But if it’s a bargain you’re looking for, there’s always Wild Turkey 101, which retails for about $25. These three bourbons are for collectors, connoisseurs, and plain old whiskey geeks. If you count yourself among any of those categories, you’d do yourself well to check these out.