LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (AP) – Jimmy Russell strolled into a roomful of tourists, and soon the patriarch of Kentucky bourbon was surrounded by fans, posing for pictures and autographing bottles. The man behind Wild Turkey even took a turn as barkeeper, pouring samples of amber whiskey at the distillery’s visitors’ center.
When Brian Leathers of Hammond, Louisiana, told him he’d been drinking Wild Turkey for years, Russell replied: “I’ve made every drop.”
That was no idle barroom boast. The 79-year-old master distiller known as “Jimmy” to everyone in the bourbon industry has indeed been responsible for every drop of Wild Turkey produced for generations of consumers.
Celebrating his 60th year in the business, Russell has overseen production of about 3 million barrels of bourbon as Wild Turkey’s master distiller – enough to fill about 20 million cases, according to the brand’s parent company, Italian-based Gruppo Campari.
In a business where age is valued, Russell is seen as a special vintage. Known among his peers as the “Buddha of Bourbon,” Russell is the longest-tenured master distiller in the tradition-filled industry.