Wild Turkey Founders
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
The Wild Turkey Distillery is part of the international mega-corporation Campari America that produces over 62 brands, labels and variations of North American whiskey including bourbon, its biggest distillery is still in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The company and its distillery is now the sixth largest producer of Bourbon and North American whiskies in the world. Wild Turkey’s Founders are dominated by two families in the Ripy family and the Russell family.
1
J.T.S. Brown
The Browns bought the old run-down McBrayer Distillery on the Salt River in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where the Wild Turkey Distillery stands today. Their flagship brand was named after a newspaper editor turned Confederate General, George D. Prentice. He was a lightning rod for rallying around the Southern cause. The brand, Old Prentice, was their best seller, but the Brown boys also made the brands called J. T. S. Brown, Old Lebanon Club, and Vine Spring Malt.
2
Katrina Egbert
Katrina focused on brand development by targeting local events and through efforts to improve the Visitor Center experience. She helped present Wild Turkey as a brand that resonates not only with loyal bourbon enthusiasts but also with a younger, emerging crowd. One of Katrina’s most notable contributions has been in storytelling and brand authenticity. She worked to amplify the Wild Turkey legacy, bringing attention to its unique history and dedication to traditional distilling processes.
3
Alvin & Bob Gould
The Ripys were bought out in 1949 by Robert and Alvin Gould.
For the next three decades, Austin Nichols Company remained a non-distiller producer, bottling bourbon purchased on the open market under the Wild Turkey brand. Much of that whiskey was purchased from the Gould’s distillery in Tyrone, Kentucky (Now Lawrenceburg). In 1971, Austin Nichols purchased the facility
4
Bill Hughes
Bill Hughes was the second Master Distiller at Wild Turkey. He served in that role pre-Prohibition when the distillery was known as the Old Hickory Distillery. Some 16 years after the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition, he would return to his role to serve in that capacity alongside Ernest W. Ripy, Jr. During Hughes’ time, Wild Turkey earned recognition for its bold, full-bodied flavor profile, a hallmark that continues to define the brand today.
5
Thomas McCarthy
.”Turkey Hunting Executive”
In 1940, McCarthy took a barrel of Ripy Bourbon on a hunting trip in North Carolina. On that trip, McCarthy hosted a Turkey Hunt and invited some of their distributors. McCarthy was entertaining the hunters throughout the hunt and stopped to share some of his fine whiskey right from the barrel. As it came out of the barrel, it was smooth, spicy, and at 101 proof. Everyone on the trip raved about the taste, and less than two years later, the Wild Turkey 101 brand was introduced.
6
James E. Nichols
At the end of the 19th century, James E. Nichols led the period that was known as the “Golden Age of Austin Nichols”, the very beginning of the era of packaged goods. The Austin Nichols name was known from Maine to Florida and coast to coast. Austin Nichols was an integral part in getting whiskey to consumers across America under the direction of James Nichols. Later, Austin Nichols purchased the Wild Turkey Distillery, whose whiskey soon became its dominant commodity.
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THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
Ezra Ripy
8
James Ripy
James Ripy was an immigrant from Ireland who settled in a small Kentucky town called Lawrenceburg around 1830. Ripy later became a successful merchant and distributor of household goods, including whiskey, in the mid-1840s and 1850s. He then started buying up several small distilleries in and around Anderson County. James had two sons who lived to adulthood, James P. Ripy and T. B. Ripy.
9
T. B. Ripy
The Ripy Brothers Distillery was named after the two sons of James Ripy, who ran the distillery, Thomas Beebe Ripy and James P. Ripy. Thomas would go on to become the largest distiller in the world during the 1890s and 1900s. Thomas Ripy's Bourbon was chosen from over 400 to represent Kentucky at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
“The Original Bourbon Baron”
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The Ripy Brothers Distillery, which his father was helped start following the conclusion of Prohibition, was where he served for a total of 42 years in the bourbon business. The distillery changed hands several times over the years and by the time he retired as Master Distiller, the distillery was known as the Austin Nichols Distilling Co. and today produces Wild Turkey.
E. W. Ripy, Jr.
“Third Generation of a Legacy”
Bruce has realized that each Russell has his own unique tastes and ideas, which have greatly strengthened the product line of Wild Turkey. While experiencing this, he has been able to blend in his personal viewpoints to further enhance the whiskey products, especially since Bruce is considered the family’s “rye guy.”
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Bruce Russell
12
Eddie Russell
Edward Freeman Russell is the youngest of 3 sons of Jimmy Russell. He began working at the family business at the Wild Turkey distillery with his father on June 5th, 1981. He learned distilling and distillery operation from the bottom up, having done almost every position in the plant, just as Jimmy had done. He is the third generation of the Russell family to work at the distillery and the fourth Master Distiller for Wild Turkey.
13
Jimmy Russell
. . The "Buddha of Bourbon"
Russell's beginning in the whiskey business started off by sweeping the floors at the distillery not five miles from where he grew up in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Now after 60 years passion for his work, Master Distiller Jimmy Russell has become a Global Ambassador, not just for Wild Turkey but for the entire Bourbon Industry.
