Wild Turkey's Austin Nichols Archives Continues To Revive The Greatest Hits With Christmas Rye Edition
The year was 1980 and Bourbon legend Jimmy Russell was about to make one of Wild Turkey's greatest hits. The man had been tasked to bring home Rye whiskymaking after Wild Turkey had for about little over a decade let another notable distillery once out in Pennsylvania produce it. This was no small feat considering that the distillery who'd been producing Ryes for Wild Turkey was amongst the best at making Pennsylvania Rye. And even before that, Wild Turkey had someone else in Maryland making them top notch Maryland Rye. To boot, Jimmy wasn't a fan of Rye whiskies but if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right.
The first Wild Turkey "Christmas" Rye.
And so in the mid-1970's, Jimmy would conceive of a 51% Rye / 37% Corn / 12% Barley recipe that would be aged for about 8 years and bottled at the house signature 101 proof. By 1980, it was ready. The house made Rye would this time come in a striking red coloured font over a dark green backdrop, topped with a gold foil, with also a very curious turkey bird looking right at you. It was candied and confectionary on the nose with tones of butterscotch, lavender and cherry cola, that signature dusty mustiness of aged oak with here an herbal undertone, rich and really spicy on the palate, giving cherry vanilla and caramel, herbal and floral spices on the tongue and a deep, warming finish; it was pretty much begging for its now famous nickname - the Wild Turkey 101 Christmas Rye. Wild Turkey was quick to move in on the fan sentiment, and over the course of two decades, the beloved Bourbon producer would periodically release the expression over the holidays, notably in 1983, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1997 before it was discontinued. The legend of course lived on, as fans continue to chase the elusive release.
Three generations of Russell's at Wild Turkey.
But now, with third-generation Bruce Russell having joined the Wild Turkey family, working alongside his grandfather and father, Jimmy and Eddie, it's given cause for a revival of some of the distillery's greatest hits! This has of course come in the form of Bruce's first collection, the Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives. Now we can think of no better a way for Bruce to usher in his time at the distillery than to start off so strong, paying homage to his family's work and winning fans over by giving them a second shot at these legendary releases! And to kick things off, the collection's first release was none other than the Wild Turkey Gold Foil. Again, what a spectacular way to kick things off! We of course had to give it a taste and boy was it fantastic - read the review here!
"Rye whiskey has always held an important place at Wild Turkey. The first Rye whiskey we ever distilled was made by Jimmy in the late 70's, so making my first Rye to pay homage to that is pretty damn special. It's the kind of whiskey that belongs around a table with family during the holidays. And maybe even under the tree."
With such a strong start, it was of course on the top of everyone's mind as to what could possibly follow as the next release - to be fair, Wild Turkey has no shortage of iconic releases - and now we have an answer! The second release will be the Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Christmas Rye Edition! Aged for 11 years and bottled 115 Proof (57.5% ABV), this Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is of course an ode to the original Christmas Rye release and was overseen by Associate Master Blender Bruce Russell.
Well, all we can say is, we'd be more than happy if we found the new Wild Turkey Christmas Rye under our tree!
Stay tuned!
Kanpai!
88 Bamboo Editorial Team
