WILD TURKEY PRIVATE SELECTION KENTUCKY STRAIGHT RYE WHISKEY
USA
We have one barrel of this great rye. One. 200 bottles, total.
Not an allocation, and nothing that can be reordered when someone asks or (more likely) begs.
One barrel, chosen by hand, and when the last bottle goes, welp — we rejoin the queue along with everyone else.
The hand belongs to Bruce Russell, and that name is the other reason to get excited. He's the third Russell to make whiskey at Wild Turkey, the grandson of Jimmy, the son of Eddie, the legendary pair we made a proper fuss over in a Premium offer not long ago.
Our team flew out to the Bluegrass State, sat down with Bruce and tasted through his casks, and came away impressed enough to put down for a barrel of this terrific and wonderfully distinctive rye.
We can tell you exactly where it comes from: the sixth floor of Warehouse Tyrone D, a rickhouse built in 1940 that holds an estimated 18,000 barrels. This one is Kentucky Straight Rye, aged for 6 to 7 years, and bottled at 101 proof.
A single barrel, as we all know, hides nothing. There's no blending to smooth out the odd edge, or to create an unearned sense of lushness that might also mask character and complexity and idiosyncrasy. That means what you're buying is exactly to Bruce's specifications.
And that’s exactly what excited us when we tasted it.
It opens with a wave of baking spice and cracked pepper, and, intriguingly, the hint of something darker and sweeter loitering underneath. A minute in the glass and it loosens and opens up into caramel, dried orchard fruit, a little brown sugar, a note of oak. The proof makes itself felt, undeniably, though it carries the weight with a kind of grace. Clove and cinnamon gather through the middle. And then comes the finish, which is long, dry, and faintly peppery, and which, like the best endings, takes you right back to the beginning.
A total triumph of a whiskey, and especially for a young man who has worked exceptionally hard to prove that he isn’t just some nepo baby.
The whisky world of Kentucky is a notoriously hard crowd to impress, but Bruce, who grew up calling the longest-tenured master distiller in the world “grandpa,” has won them over with his palate, instincts, and work ethic.
It hasn’t been easy. The Russell story is the stuff of industry legend. In an industry that sees business changing hands all the time and chasing the next thing, they’ve been at it for more than seven decades. Jimmy started in 1954 and simply never went home, aging into the longest-tenured active master distiller on the planet. Eddie joined in 1981 and spent decades at his father's elbow, tending the house style while nudging at its edges when Jimmy wasn't looking.
And now along comes Bruce, who grew up underfoot in the rickhouses, and who has developed his own opinions about what whiskey can and should do.
His single barrel program is his baby, the purest expression of who he is and what he wants to say.
We’re with him, and couldn’t be prouder to see his growth and evolution over the years.
And we can’t wait for you to get a taste of what had us so excited, there with him on the sixth floor of Warehouse Tyrone D, in scenic and historic Tyrone, Kentucky.
Secure your bottle today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Fall 2026. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. The price reflected on your order form is subject to change after the order is placed in the event of a change in tariffs or taxes that are imposed by the U.S. government, or in the case of currency fluctuations of 10% or greater. Offer only valid in CA. This offer will expire on Sunday, August 9, 2026.