Wild Turkey Distillery

The first thing to know about Wild Turkey is the Russell family. Jimmy Russell started at the distillery as an apprentice in 1954 and is still working in his 90s — making him, by Whiskycast and most other accountings, the longest-tenured active Master Distiller in the world. His son Eddie Russell joined in 1981 and is now co-Master Distiller. Eddie's son Bruce Russell is the Associate Blender. That makes Wild Turkey the only active father-son-grandson Master Distilling team in American whiskey, a fact the brand has built increasingly explicit marketing around since 2023.

The corporate parent is Campari Group, which acquired Wild Turkey from Pernod Ricard in 2009 for US$575 million (about $581 million after final inventory adjustments) — the largest acquisition in Campari's history at the time. Since then, Campari has poured roughly $160 million into the Lawrenceburg site including a new production facility that will push capacity to 14 million proof gallons annually, plus the 12,000-square-foot Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience visitor center that opened May 22, 2024 — the official rebrand of the visitor experience to honor Jimmy's 70th anniversary year.

The visit

Wild Turkey sits on a bluff above the Kentucky River along Highway 1109 (which the brand has nicknamed Wild Turkey Trace) at 1417 Versailles Road in Lawrenceburg. TripAdvisor: 4.5 stars across 1,254 reviews, ranked #1 of 10 things to do in Lawrenceburg.

The Jimmy Russell Wild Turkey Experience offers a tour menu that's expanded substantially with the new facility — premium tastings, production tours, rickhouse visits, and the new Russell's Reserve maturation tour. A March 2026 reviewer praised guide-led production tours as "very knowledgeable, passionate, and funny," noting the outdoor patio overlooking the Kentucky River and the $18 cocktail-glass keepsake option. A February 2026 visitor doing their third Bourbon Trail trip flagged Wild Turkey as the only distillery they "will visit every single time." The recurring detail in reviews: Jimmy Russell still shows up at the visitor center to greet tourists and sign bottles. That's not on the official tour roster — it just happens.

Tour pricing has shifted with the new facility. Plan on $20-$40 for standard production tours with tastings, with premium and rickhouse experiences moving higher. Book ahead, especially weekends in season.

Bottles worth knowing

• Wild Turkey 101 — the cask-strength-style flagship, $25-ish, 101 proof, sub-10-year. The most-recommended sub-$30 bourbon in the category for two decades running.
• Wild Turkey Rare Breed — barrel-strength blend, no age statement, around $50. The "real" cask-strength expression, often outscoring its bottlings against $100+ peers in blind tastings.
• Russell's Reserve 10 Year Small Batch — Eddie Russell's signature small batch, age-stated, 90 proof, $35-45.
• Russell's Reserve Single Barrel — non-chill-filtered, 110 proof, $60-ish. Routinely the bourbon press's favorite Russell's Reserve.
• Master's Keep (annual) — allocated, $275-$300 MSRP, ages and proofs vary by release. Beacon (2025) was announced as the final installment "at least for now."
• Wild Turkey Generations (2023) — three-Russell collaboration, 5,000 bottles, $450 MSRP, deep secondary.
• Wild Turkey 81 / 86.8 — the lower-proof workhorses, often used in cocktails, sub-$25.

Bottom line

Wild Turkey is the bourbon distillery where the master distiller is statistically guaranteed to be the same person who was making bourbon there when your grandfather was buying it — Jimmy Russell is the longest tenure in the category and isn't slowing. The 101 remains one of the best value bourbons in Kentucky, full stop. The new Jimmy Russell Experience is worth a visit on its own merits even before you factor in the Master's Keep tasting flights. Pair Wild Turkey with Four Roses across town in Lawrenceburg for an easy half-day on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and if you can time the trip to catch Jimmy on the floor — many visitors do — you've got the kind of distillery story that doesn't exist anywhere else in American whiskey.