Wild Turkey Founders
1.) T. B. Ripy
2.) Jimmy Russell
3.) Ernest W. Ripy, Jr.
4.) Eddie Russell
5.) James Ripy
6.) Thomas McCarthy
7.) Alvin & Bob Gould
8.) Bill Hughes
9.) Katrina Egbert
10.) Sylvester Ribaudo
11.) James E. Nichols
12.) Bruce Russell
The Wild Turkey Distillery is part of the international mega-corporation Campari America that produces over 62 brands, labels and variations of North American whiskey including bourbon, its biggest distillery is still in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. The company and its distillery is now the sixth largest producer of Bourbon and North American whiskies in the world. Wild Turkey’s Founders are dominated by two families in the Ripy family and the Russell family.
“The Original Bourbon Baron”
T. B. Ripy
The Rippy Brothers Distillery named after the two sons of James Ripy that he had hired to run the place, Thomas Beebe Ripy and James P. Ripy. Thomas would go on to become the largest distiller in the world during the two decades in the 1890's and 1900's. Thomas Ripy's Bourbon was chosen from over 400 to represent the State of Kentucky at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
. . The "Budda of Bourbon"
Jimmy Russell
Russell's beginning in the whiskey business started off by sweeping the floors at the distillery not five miles from where he grew up in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Now after 60 years passion for his work, Master Distiller Jimmy Russell has become a Global Ambassador, not just for Wild Turkey but for the entire Bourbon Industry.
. . . Turkey Hunting Executive
Thomas McCarthy
In 1940, McCarthy took a barrel of the Ripy Bourbon to a hunting trip in North Carolina. On that trip, McCarthy hosted a Turkey Hunt and invited some of their distributors. McCarthy was entertaining the hunters throughout the hunt and stopped to share some of his fine whiskey right from the barrel. As it came out of the barrel it was smooth, spicy and at 101 proof. Everyone on the trip raved about the taste and less than two years later the Wild Turkey 101 brand was introduced in 1942.
E. W. Ripy, Jr.
The Ripy Brothers Distillery, which his father was helped start following the conclusion of Prohibition, was where he served for a total of 42 years in the bourbon business. The distillery changed hands several times over the years and by the time he retired as Master Distiller, the distillery was known as the Austin Nichols Distilling Co. and today produces Wild Turkey.
Eddie Russell
Edward Freeman Russell is the youngest of 3 sons of Jimmy Russel. He began working at the family business at the Wild Turkey distillery with his father on June 5th, 1981. He learned the ways running and operating the distillery from the bottom up working about every position as Jimmy had done years prior. He is the third generation of the Russell family to work at the distillery.
Sylvester Ribaudo
This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder
. The Original Founder
James Ripy
James Ripy an immigrant from Ireland settled in a small town in Kentucky called Lawrenceburg around 1830. Ripy later became a successful merchant and distributor of household goods including whiskey in the mid 1840’s and 1850’s. He started buying up a number of small distilleries in and around Anderson County. James had two sons that lived to adulthood, James P. Ripy and T. B. Ripy.
Bruce Russell
This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder
Alvin & Bob Gould
This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder
James E. Nichols
This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder This is a placeholder