Wild Turkey Distillery

Founded in 1891 by the Ripy family near Lawrenceburg, KY, on a bluff overlooking the Kentucky River. The Wild Turkey brand name originated when Austin Nichols executive Thomas McCarthy brought samples on a wild turkey hunting trip in the 1940s. A new modern distillery was built in 2011 on the same site. Famously uses higher-char barrels and enters spirit at a lower proof than most Kentucky distilleries, producing a bold, full-flavored whiskey. Jimmy Russell, who started in 1954, is considered among the longest-tenured active master distillers in the industry.