Lexington, KY - Eddie Russell remembers as a boy going out to visit the Wild Turkey Distillery, where his father worked as the master distiller. But back then, he was more focused on their mutual interest in sports than in following in his father's footsteps in the bourbon business.
"I never once thought I would work out here," Russell said. He now has spent nearly 30 years at Wild Turkey, which next month will open a $50 million expansion to its distilling and warehouse operation.
After high school, Russell went to Western Kentucky University, where he played football. But in June 1981, after he turned 21, he returned to the Wild Turkey Distillery.
"I came for a summer job and I never left," said Russell, who completed his bachelor's degree through the University of Kentucky.
Russell started as a member of the union, doing jobs such as rolling barrels and mowing the grounds, working his way up and improving with age.
"I have done every job here," Russell said.
While the Wild Turkey Distillery is owned by a multi-national corporation - it changed hands last year from France-based Pernod Ricard to Italy-based Campari for $575 million - Russell's father, Jimmy Russell, still thinks of it as a "family-type business."
He said that many of the 100 or so full-time employees at the distillery have another family member who works there, and "most were born and raised in Anderson County."
As visitors approach from the east on U.S. 62, they have to slow down to cross the Kentucky River on a curving bridge. The distillery is perched on a hill above the river, with a sign at the bridge that says "Bourbon Lovers, Welcome to Paradise." A feeling that time has slowed down continues when visitors step out of the car. Distilling bourbon is a slow process, and there is no need to rush.
"It's a good, relaxed atmosphere," Jimmy Russell said. "And we treat everyone as family."
The sign outside the visitor center, lists the hours as "9 till 4:30-ish." Another tour was recently added to the Monday-Saturday schedule, and Sunday tours are under consideration.
"It has that good-old Kentucky feeling, where you want to sit back and relax," Jimmy Russell said.
That doesn't mean that business is slow.
Though down slightly in 2009, sales of spirits distilled in the United States topped $1 billion for the third year in a row last year. Sales of bourbon and Tennessee whisky make up about 70 percent of that.
Campari, which also owns Skyy vodka, in March said
2009 profit rose 8.3 percent after its purchase of the Wild Turkey bourbon brand.
Kentucky distillers have seen a surge in sales in the small batch and single barrel products. Jimmy and Eddie Russell have developed Russell's Reserve.
Heaven Hill Distilleries this year released Parker's Heritage, named for sixth generation master distiller Parker Beam, whose son, Craig, also is following in his father's footsteps. Wild Turkey has had great success with its American Honey liqueur, which went from selling 18,000 cases in 2009 to 200,000 cases so far this year.
That product starts out as a bourbon but has honey and fruit added to it, for consumers who prefer a less bold flavor than traditional bourbon.
Jim Beam has come out with Red Stag, a bourbon with natural black cherry flavors, and honey and cherry flavors are sold by the Evan Williams label.
"Small batch and single barrel have skyrocketed in popularity on an international scale," said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers Association.
That international aspect is another driving force behind bourbon. Jimmy Russell said the biggest change in his 50-plus years of distilling has been "the opening of the world."
Wild Turkey has seen the export share of its business go from about 5 percent to about 50 percent, the elder Russell said.
In August, Jimmy and Eddie Russell were taking part in a promotional tour through Australia, one of the few trips they get to take together. They participated in events for the media, consumers and others in the industry.
"A lot of it is people who are just learning what bourbon is all about," Eddie Russell said.
Two potential huge markets - China and India - are just beginning to learn what bourbon is all about.
Gregory said the main competition for bourbon in places such as Japan, Australia, China and India is Scotch whiskey.
"We are converting people out there, and that's great," Gregory said.
Gregory and the Distillers Association also have had a lot of success on the home front. Gregory recalled an association event earlier this year where Jimmy Russell worked the crowd less than 12 hours after stepping off a plane from a return trip from Australia. Creating those personal connections is key for distillers such as the Russells, Gregory said.
"You couldn't ask for finer ambassadors, because they are the face of the brand," Gregory said. Jimmy Russell is "not just a name on a bottle," he said. "He enjoys meeting people and talking and never seems to get tired."
To help people make those personal connections, the association helps promote the Bourbon Trail, with stops at six Kentucky distilleries. Since it was created in 1999, its popularity has exploded. The stops on the trail have attracted 1.7 million visitors in the last five years, Gregory said.
Gregory also pointed out that those visits benefit more than just the distilleries.
"The visitors are eating, sleeping and shopping in our communities at a time when we need it most," Gregory said. "Bourbon is critical to the commonwealth's economic success."
The trail includes a passport program, with visitors to all of the stops on the tour receiving a free T-shirt. Last year, about 3,000 people completed the passport program. Through August of 2010, more than 4,000 already had completed the trip.
Eddie Russell remembers that when he started, tours were given on an irregular basis by whomever was handy. Then in the late 1980s, a home once used by distillery workers was converted into a visitor's center. The home now has a staff all its own and is the starting and ending point for multiple tours each day. Visitors get samples at the end of the tour and a chance to buy Wild Turkey merchandise. A quick look over just two pages of its guest book includes people signing in from Arkansas, Kansas and Wyoming.
As recently as 10 years ago, Wild Turkey would only have had perhaps 10,000 visitors all year. The distillery has drawn more than 35,000 already this year, Eddie Russell said, and that was before two of the biggest bourbon events of the years.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown was expected to draw thousands of visitors from Sept. 14-19. And then there is the second running of the Bourbon Chase. The 200-mile relays will start at the Jim Beam distillery on Oct. 22 and wind along the Bourbon Trail to a festival finish in Lexington the next evening. Last year's race was a sellout three months in advance.
"It was more successful than any of us thought it would be," Gregory said.
This year's race sold out eight months in advance. It includes an overnight stop at Wild Turkey, with Jimmy Russell strolling the grounds.
After all, Jimmy and Eddie Russell know a thing or two about endurance.
"You could save millions by doing it cheaper in the short run," Jimmy Russell said, "but it will cost you in the long run if your customers don't come back."