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holiday gift ideas
Holiday Gift Ideas
Share, welcome guests and toast with essential spirit Wild Turkey By Jennifer English
James Beard Award Winner Editor-at-Large and Chief Correspondent of PR%F Live!
Photos courtesy of Wild Turkey
Once and for all, Benjamin Franklin did not nominate the Wild Turkey as our National Bird. That is a myth. We find ourselves deep in Harvest abundance and gratitude each year, preparing to celebrate with food and drink. However, Roast Turkey is, in fact, the National Bird of our collective Thanksgiving Table, memorialized by ritual, confirmed by custom, and idealized by Norman Rockwell. In short, while the Wild Turkey was the runner-up in America’s National Bird pageant, it became even more beloved than the bird on the dollar bill. This time of year is a celebration of gratitude with family and friends through food and drink and giftgiving. For 2021, with so much to be grateful for, it became important to show the people who are special to me just that. With that in mind, I decided to curate my 2021 holiday gifts from the Wild Turkey family of bottlings.
Today, Wild Turkey Distilling operates one of the most fascinating and welcoming locations on both the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the American Whiskey Trail in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. From here, the Wild Turkey tradition, which dates back to 1891 when Thomas Ripy founded what was then known as the Old Hickory Distillery, is generating well-deserved global acclaim for the range of bottlings produced. The company is owned by the Austin Nichols Division of the Campari Group, which acquired the distillery from global spirits powerhouse Pernod Ricard in 2009. Today there are many bottlings under the Wild Turkey brand, including both the Rye and Bourbon whiskies.