Brand Ambassador - Benny Hurwitz, Wild Turkey

DEDICATION PASSION PATIENCE

=A REAL RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

By Joseph Luparello

MANY BARTENDERS IN THE INDUSTRY

aspire to represent a big time brand. Those who succeed have a genuine passion and a will to pursue the position patiently. Benny Hurwitz believes his strong industry background and a healthy serving of dedication led him to his most precious accomplishment: becoming a brand ambassador for Wild Turkey Bourbon.

It all began for Benny back in 2009 when he started as a barback. He would work one night a week, in addition to working a job in a completely different field. It took almost two years of bar backing and serving tables until Benny landed a bartending gig at Bourbon in Washington, D.C. Two years later, the establishment’s owners opened a new spot called Jack Rose Dining Saloon, which would become one of the biggest whiskey bars in the world.

He spent eight years working at Jack Rose, eventually becoming the head bartender. Not long afterward Benny moved to the award-winning cocktail bar Columbia Room. His life-changing experience at Columbia Room was intersected when he was offered the job of a lifetime to work with Wild Turkey and move to Los Angeles.

Before he was offered a job there, Benny’s ties with Wild Turkey were already well established. His first interactions with the brand date back to 2015, through a bartender immersion program called “Behind the Barrel.” Two titans in the whiskey industry, master distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell led the program.

“Once you meet these guys, it’s hard not to fall in love with the story and the brand,” remarks Benny. “After that initial trip, I went back to visit Wild Turkey every year until they gave me a job! I believe it was the dedication I had as a bartender, my true passion for bourbon, and my love for Wild Turkey that got acknowledged by the Russells.”

Benny Hurwitz Lands His Dream Job with the Russells