Talking turkey about Wild Turkey.
So there we sat surrounded by so many esteemed Vancouver bartenders thinking “What the fuck do we know about Bourbon and how the fuck did we get here?” Through some magical aligning of the planets, we were invited to a Wild Turkey Bourbon tasting hosted by the good folks down at Boneta in Gastown. “Tasting”, you say? OK, tasting, then swallowing (God knows The Boozecan boys aren’t going to waste a drop of the amber elixir). But more than that - we were there to be enlightened about the many offerings of Wild Turkey and the general gloriousness that is Bourbon - real Kentucky Bourbon - AND from one of the best Bourbon distillers that walks the planet - Eddie Russell. This man can talk about Bourbon like housewives talks about their newborn kids - except we weren’t bored out of our skulls and rolling our eyes while we listened.
Now Wild Turkey isn’t exactly a mainstay in Canadian liquor cabinets, but after our learnin’ session it should be. First off, did you know there is a Bourbon “Hall of Fame” and did you know that Eddie Russell has recently been inducted into said “Hall of Fame”?
So when this man is speaking about Bourbon, you best sit down, shut the fuck up and listen (our humble apologies to the drink-slingers we may have disturbed with our excited chatter). According to Eddie, the invention of bourbon - for medicinal purposes of course - is often attributed to a pioneering Baptist minister and distiller named Elijah Craig. Upon doing some quick online research (hey, if its on the web it must be true…) it appears that there are conflicting stories - so we’ll just stick to Eddie Russell’s account. He is, after all, the son of renowned Master Distiller Jimmy Russell, and he’s been at this game for over 30 years.
Eddie himself has that obligatory laid-back southern drawl and a personality reminiscent of anyone’s favourite grandpa - even though he can’t be older than 50ish. Clearly passionate about his craft he went on to disclose the ins and outs of Kentucky Bourbon and the finer points of Wild Turkey’s distillation and aging process.
With 5 different variations of Wild Turkey Bourbon neatly laid out in front of us, each with a placard in front to tell us about its nose, colour, palate and finish, Eddie walked us through them one by one. When you’ve got the luxury of comparing five different varieties at the same time, it’s amazing how one can vary so much from another in taste, finish etc - anything from light vanilla to tobacco-ish, caramel - and not just depending on age, but how and where it’s left to age in the warehouse. Although as amazing as they all were, according to Eddie, “Bourbon’s never better than when it’s straight out of the barrel.”
Eddie mentioned the new breed of bartenders who started using Bourbon in today’s mixed drinks which opened up a whole new “canvas” for cocktails and how they’ve been responsible in part for Bourbon’s resurgence as a drink - it ain’t just an old man’s drink anymore - ie you can make a mean (insert drink name here) with Kentucky Bourbon. However, as Mr. Russell put it “We’ve always been able to mix Bourbon in Kentucky … with some ice or even a little water.”
Straight from the horses mouth - it’s okay to splash some water in your Bourbon - it won’t ruin a thing. In fact, he went on to explain “proof” - the difference between 80 proof and 101 proof (mythically deemed as “get loaded faster”) in one shot is merely a teaspoon of water.
But as Russell says, Kentucky is a laid-back state, so just drink your Bourbon however you like it, ain’t nobody gonna get offended.
