[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14872-14873]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING JAMES C. RUSSELL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of Mr. James 
C. Russell, master distiller at the Wild Turkey Distillery in 
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and to mark the event of his 60th year in the 
industry.
  Mr. Russell, or Jimmy as he is warmly known to family, friends, and 
acquaintances alike, is the living example of the maxim that you ought 
to do what you love. Born into a family of distillers just 3 miles from 
the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Jimmy has been instrumental 
in the craftsmanship of nearly every barrel since he began working at 
the facility on September 10, 1954, when he was just 19 years old.
  Since becoming master distiller in the late 1960s, Jimmy has been 
prolific, distilling more than 3 million barrels with his keen eye for 
detail and palate for flavor. When he is not in Lawrenceburg overseeing 
production, Jimmy is traveling the world as one of perhaps the most 
famous ambassadors for Kentucky's signature bourbon industry.
  Mr. Russell has seen the ebbs and flows of the industry over the 
years and has been a key player in fostering the recent explosive 
growth of bourbon. Treated like a rock star wherever he goes, as 
adoring fans clamor for his autograph or a bottle of American Honey or 
his Russell Reserve, the indefatigable spirit of this Kentucky Bourbon 
Hall of Famer, or the so-called ``Buddha of Bourbon,'' will help guide 
the bourbon industry long into the future. Jimmy's son Eddie, himself a 
Hall of Famer, will ensure that the family's time-honored tradition of 
producing complex, finely honed bourbons continues into the fourth 
generation.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join Jimmy's friends, 
family, fans, and fellow master distillers in raising a toast to 
celebrate Mr. Russell's contributions to a distinctively American and 
Kentucky industry on this momentous anniversary. I know I speak for 
millions more across the country and around the world when I say that I 
look forward to enjoying the fruits of Jimmy's labor for many more 
years to come.

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