My Vintage Wild Turkey Collection: 20 Years of Bottles & Memories

Hey everyone,

I just uploaded a new video on the Dram and Draw channel where I walk through my personal collection of vintage Wild Turkey bottles. Since many of you may prefer reading, here’s the story in written form.

The story starts with the Ripy family, who built their distillery on Wild Turkey Hill in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in the 1860s. They operated as the Ripy Bros. Distillery and sold bourbon under labels like Old Ripy or Ripy Bros. The Ripy family owned and ran the distillery from the 1860s all the way until 1949.

Unlike today’s tightly controlled mashbills, early distillers like the Ripys had to adjust grain ratios based on crop availability and cost. One year corn might be cheap and abundant, the next it could be expensive or scarce. This meant the exact percentage of each grain could fluctuate from batch to batch.

To keep consistency despite these variations, they used "backset" — adding a portion of the previous fermentation’s spent mash into the next batch — to create sour mash. This helped stabilize pH levels, control bacteria, and produce more reliable flavor even when grain mixes changed. (This traditional method was later refined by Dr. James C. Crow.)

In 1940, Austin Nichols executive Thomas McCarthy took some of that Ripy-distilled whiskey on a wild turkey hunting trip. His friends loved it so much they kept asking for “that Wild Turkey bourbon.”

Austin Nichols & Co. officially began bottling and marketing it as Wild Turkey in 1942. They owned the brand and acted as the wholesaler and marketer, having the whiskey produced for them under contract. From 1949 to 1971 the distillery was owned by the Gould brothers (operating as J.T.S. Brown and later Boulevard Distillery), while Austin Nichols continued as the bottler and marketer. In 1971, Austin Nichols finally purchased the physical distillery and renamed it the Wild Turkey Distillery.

Jimmy Russell joined in 1954 and has been a steady hand ever since. Through all the ownership changes (Pernod Ricard in 1980, Campari in 2009), the core mashbill has stayed remarkably consistent: 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Here are some of the highlights I showed in the video:

- 1987 8 Year 101 Proof – The everyday workhorse from the 1970s–1992  

- 1984 8 Year 101 Proof (1.75L Handle) – 1970's to around 1992

- 1990 Cheesy Gold Foil 12 Year – 1985–1992 (the loud, shiny gold foil collectors remember)  

- 1991 First Edition Rare Breed – One of the early barrel-proof releases  

In the Video I feature some other unique releases like:

- 12 Year 101 Proof (Split Label) – Produced 1993 to around 1999

- 1855 Reserve (Export Rare Breed) – The sought-after export-only version  

- Russell’s Reserve 10 Year 101 – 2001–2005  

- Plus a few of the fun novelty bottles (Violin, Fantail) from the late 90s/early 2000s

If you have a vintage bottle and notice sediment in the bottom of the bottle,  that’s normal and actually a good sign — most vintage bourbons weren’t chill filtered.

Watch the Full Video Here

These bottles aren’t just whiskey — they’re little time capsules. Drinking Wild Turkey made 30 or 40 years ago is drinking history made by people who are long gone. My appreciation has changed a lot since I was mixing it with Coke in the 80s, and that’s what I love most about this hobby.

If you have your own Wild Turkey memories or dusty finds, drop them in the comments on YouTube. I read every one.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg