398 – Carrying On A Legacy at Wild Turkey with Bruce Russell



Wild Turkey is one of the premier bourbon brands. We’ve had the pleasure of having all the Russell’s on the show in previous years and it’s always heartwarming to have any member of this family on to share stories. It’s fun to hear the generational changes and how bourbon has developed. We had Bruce Russell on the show for the first time in 2019 on episode 199 with his cousin, JoAnn Street, but this time Bruce joins the show to talk about his journey in these last few years. Bruce has shown tremendous growth in a short period of time and we get to know more about him and how his time as a global brand ambassador really immersed him into the company and the culture. We ask Bruce about the current whiskey market and how he is carrying on a legacy and how he thinks he will leave his everlasting stamp on Wild Turkey.

Show Notes:

  • Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about oxidation in the bottle.
  • Did you know as a child you were going to get into whiskey?
  • How is it different for you all being the face of the brand but not the owners of it?
  • When you started as a global brand ambassador was that a way to get an immersive learning experience?
  • Did Jimmy or Eddie ever tell you about being on the road before bourbon was cool?
  • What have you seen change since you started in 2011?
  • Why do you keep changing your packaging?
  • What international markets is Wild Turkey getting entrenched into?
  • Have you thought about how you are going to put your own stamp on the Wild Turkey brand?
  • If you have ideas to implement, how do you go through your creative process?
  • Do you think the market is ready for blending to start making more traction?
  • Why do you keep making me hammer out bungs during single barrel picks?
  • @russellsryeguy
  • Support this podcast on Patreon

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