Trust Your Spirit Benefit Event

The festival will make a leap beyond food and wine for the first time in 2022, introducing the Trust Your Spirit Benefit event, hosted by Wild Turkey Distilling Co. National Ambassador Bruce Russell.  The event features a cocktail welcome reception, an evening of spirits education, guided tour of curated whiskeys from the iconic Wild Turkey Distilling Co. paired with delectable bites from Chef Valarie Hall and legendary tales with Bruce Russell, grandson of Master Distiller Jimmy Russell – the Buddha of Bourbon and son of the renowned Master Distiller Eddie Russell.  This separately ticketed event is open to the public and is scheduled for Thursday October 13 at Ridgeway Country Club.

Bruce Russell is astutely aware of the Bourbon legacy he was born into. The son and grandson of legendary Bourbon distillers Eddie and Jimmy Russell, Bruce displays the same trademark Russell good humor and humility when speaking of his famous family. Bourbon is in Bruce’s blood, as he becomes the fourth generation of Russell to forge a career in the American Whiskey arena – at a time in spirits history when American Whiskey is becoming a global phenomenon.

Growing up in the shadow of the distillery and his larger than life lineage, it was practically inevitable that Bruce would join the family business. Following graduation from the University of Kentucky in 2014, Bruce worked as an apprentice, learning from the world’s only active father-son Master Distillers. The youngest Russell got a taste of what Eddie and Jimmy already knew... there are worse ways to make a living than being paid to talk Bourbon - and spreading the gospel of Wild Turkey and Russell’s Reserve one glass at a time.

Bruce knew he’d learn a lot about the ‘Jimmy’ way of making Bourbon, but what he didn’t expect was how much he’d learn about his father and grandfather themselves. Anybody can Google Bourbon and pick up the basics, like the right mash bill, oak barrels, alligator char and just the right amount of time in the rick house. But the youngest Russell, like his forefathers before him, is learning that while making good whiskey is a science, making great Bourbon is an art.

Having recently relocated back to Kentucky, Bruce now serves as the Brand Educator and Private Barrel Lead for Wild Turkey while also apprenticing in the same fashion as his father and grandfather before him – learning the bourbon trade from the ground up. When not at the distillery plying his trade, Bruce can be found frequenting his favorite bars and restaurants around Lexington and Louisville.