Matthew McConaughey and Wild Turkey Distillery have announced the introduction of Wild Turkey Longbranch: a collaboration between McConaughey, who in 2016 was named the whiskey brand’s creative director, and Master Distiller Eddie Russell (pictured atop).
Inspired by McConaughey’s Kentucky and Texas roots, this small-batch Kentucky bourbon is refined with Texas mesquite and oak charcoals, the company says. Longbranch is made with eight-year-old Wild Turkey bourbon. Flavors of caramel, pear, and hints of citrus round out the palate, the company says, while the smoky finish has notes of gentle pepper and toasted oak.
This launch marks the first time Wild Turkey has unveiled a product that bears a signature of someone other than the Master Distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell. A video of the creation of Wild Turkey Longbranch with McConaughey is now on YouTube..
The brand name is inspired by “friends that form the longest branches of our family trees,” the company says. The connections that McConaughey and the Russells have to the states of Kentucky and Texas were inspiration for this collaboration. McConaughey’s parents met at the University of Kentucky, 15 miles from the Wild Turkey Distillery, while Eddie Russell’s youngest son, Bruce, now lives in McConaughey’s hometown of Austin, Texas.
“Longbranch, in its simplest form, is an extended hand, inviting a friend into your family,” McConaughey says. “So the branch that was extended to me from the Russells was a long one, one that reached from Kentucky to Texas and back again. I offered the Mesquite from my great state to add to their legendary Kentucky whiskey and together we made Longbranch.”
To create Longbranch’s signature flavor, McConaughey and Russell spent hours sharing notes, then, after two years of testing, finalized a proprietary process that combines two separate charcoal filtration methods. The first filtration process uses charcoal made from American White Oak and the second uses charcoal made from Texas Mesquite wood, giving the bourbon notes of smoky sweetness, the company says.
Wild Turkey Longbranch will be available on shelves across the U.S. in May for a suggested retail price of $39.99 per 750-ml. bottle, and will roll-out to additional markets around the world later this year.