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Wild Turkey

We arrived at Wild Turkey in time for the last tour of the day. I got my ticket and then browsed the small gift shop and the wall of Wild Turkey history. Jimmy Russell, Master Distiller, sat near the entrance chatting with visitors. I had no idea what to say to a legendary Master Distiller so I just meandered through the visitor center until it was time for my tour.


Our group got into the tour bus for a drive up the hill to the distillery. We went through the distillery itself somewhat quickly, which made sense as most of it was loud and hard to hear. The fermentation room was impressive but that was about it. We walked back down to the bus and drove to a rick house. It was interesting and would have sufficed if it was the only one I saw, but was nothing special.

I wasn’t impressed with this tour. If you want to see a distillery and this is the only one you can do for whatever reason, it would be worth it. There wasn’t anything unique about it, though, and I found it lacking in information and proximity to the process.

The bus then went back to the visitor center for the tasting. I wasn’t a fan of the whiskeys that we tried (and wasn’t familiar with Wild Turkey whiskey before this visit) but I imagine this could be a highlight of the trail for Wild Turkey fans. The glass that we got to keep was bigger than I’d expect for whiskey but it’s a nice take-home gift. I would have liked a little more time at the tasting.


The view of the Kentucky River from the rear of the visitor center was the perfect way to end this long first day of the drive. I stood there for a while watching the water go by while I thought back on the day. If I were to drive through the area again I’d stop by for the view but pass on the tour.
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