Wild Turkey Jimmy Russell's 70th Anniversary 8-Year-Old Bourbon Review

Jimmy Russell needs no introduction to bourbon enthusiasts. Everyone has the utmost respect for his legacy and it’s because of it that we’ve seen releases specifically tied to the number of years he’s worked at Wild Turkey. There will likely never be another Master Distiller that will be able to match the career that Jimmy has had.

An Anniversary Celebration 70 Years in the Making

Wild Turkey has famously decided to commemorate Jimmy Russell’s time with the company with anniversary releases starting in 2004. 2024 marks his 70th year with the company, so it’s time for another one. Previous anniversary releases were Wild Turkey Tribute 50th Anniversary Bourbon and Diamond Anniversary 60th Anniversary. By most accounts, enthusiasts went wild over Tribute but viewed Diamond Anniversary as a dud.

One of the reasons why Diamond Anniversary wasn’t as well regarded may have been the fact it was bottled at 91 proof. And this was despite the fact it was made up of 13- to 16-year-old barrels! It never seemed to resonate well with enthusiasts. The low proof could be blamed on the fact that the bourbon was over-oaked to begin with, which necessitated proofing it down to help balance out the tannins.

I chatted with Turkey Super Fan Rarebird101 about this and he encouraged me to revisit some previous Bourbon Pursuit episodes where one of the Russell’s may have dropped a hint about which specific warehouse these barrels were aged in (was it the all-brick Warehouse B at the Old Taylor Distillery?) that resulted in unusually low barrel proofs. This review from Cigar Aficionado seems to indicate that Eddie had pre-selected the barrels used for Diamond Anniversary from the middle floor of a warehouse and moved them to the bottom floor. So, it’s entirely feasible that the combined batch proof was already much lower than normal – possibly in the mid-90s.

For this release, Wild Turkey didn’t take that chance again. This time around they bottled it at 101 proof and used barrels that fit more into the wheelhouse of what Jimmy would have preferred – 8 and 9 year old barrels from his favorite warehouses. What are his favorite warehouses? I’ve read quite a few articles that point to Tyrone A through D. That would make sense since these are some of the oldest warehouses Wild Turkey owns. I’ve seen some speculation that 70th Anniversary barrels were mainly sourced from Camp Nelson, but Jimmy was never a big fan of that campus. Fans on the other hand seem to be loving them. But if this batch is to commemorate Jimmy, I can’t imagine the final blend using Camp Nelson barrels.

Wild Turkey learns from its previous mistakes for the 70th Anniversary release

The 70th Anniversary Bourbon also avoids the pitfalls of the Diamond Anniversary release by pricing it at an extremely reasonable $50 MSRP. Diamond Anniversary was hamstrung by the fact it carried an MSRP of $125 – and that was in 2014 when bourbon prices were still relatively low. You could buy 2.5 bottles of Russell’s Reserve for the price of one Diamond Anniversary. Ouch.

There also seems to be a lot of these bottles ready to burst out on the market. Rumor has it that there are 10 times more bottles of the 70th Anniversary being released than the average of most of their Limited Time Offerings. And just to put it into more of a perspective, Wild Turkey Tribute only consisted of 5,000 total bottles while Diamond Anniversary was slightly over 30,000 bottles. I imagine this release will be in the neighborhood of 100,000 bottles, but that’s just my own speculation.

Most people don’t know or don’t believe that yet which is causing a bit of an uproar on the secondary market. The first bottles of these were sold at a 4x markup – an astounding $200! If only those buyers would have waited at least 24 hours, they would have seen the markup drop to around 2.5x the retail cost. They’re continuing to drop more every hour since then. Enthusiasts truly are a frantic and anxious bunch.

What I’m hoping to find in this bottle is a bourbon that exemplifies the brand that Jimmy helped build. A bourbon that’s packed full of flavor, is easily accessible and makes the drinker smack their lips with satisfaction and say “now that’s what Turkey is supposed to taste like!” Do we have a hit on our hands? Or another Diamond Anniversary misstep? Let’s find out. A big shoutout to James for making this review happen. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The sweet scent of honeyed oak meets the spice of cinnamon powder. Dessert-like notes of apple strudel, nougat and caramel all give this a classic Wild Turkey nose that smells stronger than most 100 proof bourbons out there. I can also find a slight nuttiness that is accompanied by vanilla bean. This is one of the better batched modern-Turkey noses I’ve ever experienced.

Palate: Sweet toffee flavors pair with nougat, Flan and Werther’s candies. Fruit notes come by way of cooked apples and citrus oil. Tannins include seasoned oak and a hint of leather. For spices, this bottle provides everything you’re looking for and more with clove, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, peppermint and a hint of anise. There’s even some browned butter for texture.

Finish: Lingering sweetness is helped along by some of the soft orchard fruit flavors. Oak, a hint of cocoa and a pinch of dried tobacco leaf give the finish a lasting tannic character. It’s got a surprisingly sweet ending that is pleasant to ponder over. You’ll have plenty of time to because the finish lasts a decently long time.

Score: 7.7/10

I’m delighted to find a bourbon that exceeds my expectations. Jimmy Russell’s 70th Anniversary Bourbon is a refined, robust sip that does, in fact, having me smack my lips and saying “now that’s what Turkey is supposed to taste like!” I find no overly hot spices or astringency – which sometimes plagues regular Wild Turkey 101. Every sip is so well-rounded that I don’t want to put my glass down.

For what this bottle is at MSRP, it’s bound to be a fan-favorite. It easily steps above other similar bottles in terms of quality of taste. One of its closest competitors may be another Wild Turkey product. I’m talking about the new Wild Turkey Private Selection Single Barrels that are hitting certain markets around the US. Based on the one I had, 70th Anniversary tastes every bit as mature and refined. The oak notes in particular make me think I’m drinking a well-aged bourbon.

Final Thoughts

Thirsty to find your own bottle? Well just be patient. Don’t rush out and pay secondary pricing for one just yet. These will be distributed soon and there will be plenty for everyone. This needs to be a bottle that ultimately makes it onto every enthusiast’s shelf. But don’t keep it there for decoration because this deserves to be opened and drank. It’s the way Jimmy would’ve wanted it.