Wild Turkey Gold Foil 16 Year Bourbon

Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives, Gold Foil Edition (16 Year)

Price

$899.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 16 Years | Region: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky | Proof: 120.0

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

120

Proof

Years Aged

60%

ABV

Camp Nelson

Rickhouses

750mL

Format

The Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition is a 16-year-old, 120-proof, non-chill filtered Kentucky straight bourbon released in May 2026 — the first bottling in Wild Turkey's annual Austin Nichols Archives Collection, created by Associate Master Blender Bruce Russell in tribute to the “Cheesy Gold Foil” bottlings sold from 1985 to 1992.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Inaugural release of the annual Austin Nichols Archives Collection, launched the year after Wild Turkey closed its previous series with Master's Keep Beacon, the series' final release.

The first Wild Turkey series led solely by Associate Master Blender Bruce Russell, and the first series whose bottles carry his signature alone.

Drawn from barrels aged primarily at Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson site on the Kentucky River, from rickhouses F, D and E.

Bottled non-chill filtered at 120 proof (60% ABV), with a 16-year age statement.

An illustrated canister lined in gold foil, its autumnal hunting scene hiding a vintage Cheesy Gold Foil bottle resting on a barrel.

Nothing in the recipe changed: Wild Turkey's long-standing grain bill, its yeast and its distilling methods, all in use for generations.

Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition Bottle and Canister

Nº 02

Legacy & Homage

The Dusty Era Parallel

Collectors call the original “Cheesy Gold Foil”: a 12-year-old, 101-proof Wild Turkey sold from 1985 to 1992, nicknamed for its kitschy gold-foil label and gilded tube. The Archives edition honors it without copying it. Bruce Russell kept Wild Turkey's recipe, took the whiskey to 16 years, largely in the Camp Nelson rickhouses, and chased the older-barrel depth of that era, then brought the batch down from above 140 proof to a non-chill filtered 120. “We're not trying to duplicate it,” he told Whisky Advocate.

Nº 03

The Sensory Arc

Official profile & serving

Sensory Profile

Wild Turkey's notes: on the nose, mature-oak “funk,” dried fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnut; on the palate, cherry cola, clove, dark caramel, tobacco and cocoa; and an extremely long finish of peppery spice, brown sugar, oak tannins and leather.

Serving & Position

Pour it neat in a rocks glass or copita and give it time in the glass; at 120 proof, a few drops of water are the most it needs. It reached select markets in small quantities from May 2026, and as the series opener it is the first bottle in any Austin Nichols Archives run.

Nº 04

Provenance & Release

The collector's picture

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Austin Nichols Lineage

The collection takes its name from Austin Nichols, which began as a wholesale grocery business, moved into liquor distribution and had a hand in launching the Wild Turkey brand in the 1940s.

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Camp Nelson Rickhouses

Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson site sits on a hill beside the Kentucky River; the distillery points to its weather and the air moving off the river as the source of the depth this bourbon needed. Russell's Reserve has bottled single rickhouses from the same site, among them the single-rickhouse bottling from Camp Nelson C.

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Collector Canister Details

Look closely at the canister: the flying turkey copies its pose from the original Cheesy Gold Foil bottle; tucked into the scene, an old Cheesy Gold bottle sits on a barrel; the hunters point back to the hunting trip that named the brand; and the cabin borrows its two chimneys from the Station Master's House on the distillery grounds.

As the first bottling of the Austin Nichols Archives Collection, the Gold Foil Edition sets the series' pattern: one landmark bottle from Wild Turkey's history revisited each year under Bruce Russell, with a different hidden Easter egg in each release.

Collector IndexArchives · Release 01

Bourbon: Wild Turkey Gold Foil Edition
Series: Austin Nichols Archives Collection
Producer: Wild Turkey Distilling Co.
Origin: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Strength: 120 Proof (60.0% ABV)
Age: 16 Years Aged
Filtration: Non-Chill Filtered
Release: May 2026 · select markets

Explore the whole bourbon range we carry in the Midnight Whiskey vault.

Nº 05

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Proof / ABV	120 proof (60% ABV)
Age Statement	16 years
Category	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Series	Austin Nichols Archives Collection — inaugural release
Filtration	Non-chill filtered
Maturation	Aged primarily in Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson rickhouses
Blender	Associate Master Blender Bruce Russell
Release Date	May 2026
Format	750 mL
Producer	Wild Turkey Distilling Co., Lawrenceburg, Kentucky

Nº 06

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

The Austin Nichols Archives Collection borrows the name of the grocery wholesaler whose liquor business helped launch Wild Turkey in the 1940s, and each yearly release looks back to a different bottle from the distillery's past. Gold Foil Edition looks to the so-called Glut Era, when bourbon demand slumped, stocks piled up and Jimmy Russell regularly folded older barrels into everyday bottlings, which gave them depth and the “mature oak funk” that marks Wild Turkey of that period. Rather than recreate the original 101-proof, 12-year Gold Foil, Bruce Russell kept to Wild Turkey's generations-old grain bill, yeast and distilling methods, took the whiskey to a 16-year age statement and bottled it non-chill filtered at 120 proof. The barrels aged primarily in the Camp Nelson rickhouses, where the distillery says the local weather and river air build the depth this profile required.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition?

The Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition is a 16-year-old, 120-proof, non-chill filtered Kentucky straight bourbon released in May 2026. It is the first bottling in the Austin Nichols Archives Collection, Wild Turkey's annual limited-edition series led by Associate Master Blender Bruce Russell.

What proof is the Wild Turkey Gold Foil Edition?

The Wild Turkey Gold Foil Edition is bottled at 120 proof (60% ABV) and is non-chill filtered. That is a higher strength than the 101-proof vintage Gold Foil bottlings it honors.

Is the Gold Foil Edition the same as the original Cheesy Gold Foil?

No — the Gold Foil Edition is a modern tribute rather than a re-release. The original “Cheesy Gold Foil” was a 12-year-old, 101-proof Wild Turkey bourbon sold between 1985 and 1992, while the 2026 edition is a 16-year-old bourbon bottled at 120 proof from barrels aged primarily in Wild Turkey's Camp Nelson rickhouses.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Wild Turkey Distilling Co. · 120 Proof

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Gold Foil

The Elemental Distinction

Legacy & Homage