A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon

There's no doubt about it, we all owe a great debt to one Reverend Elijah Craig and his invention of one of the most delicious and intoxicating (no pun intended) drinks known to man—bourbon whiskey, a sweet mix of corn, rye and barley malt. But we also owe respect to T'sai Lun and Johannes Gutenberg, because without them there would be no means to print the signature Wild Turkey Bourbon ads seen below.

Just looking at them makes you want to grab the bottle and head for those Kentucky woods with your shotgun-toting friends for some good old-fashioned turkey hunting. Thankfully, many of you can resist the urge to hunt with whiskey on your breath. Instead, fans of Wild Turkey satisfy their craving for liquored up hunting by collecting magazine and newspaper ads from past and present, showcasing that outdoorsy flavor and that signature, mouth-watering bourbon redness.

Below are some finds from around the web, from sites like eBay and Amazon where the prints are plentiful. See how the Dirty Bird progressed in time.

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1959. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1964. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1967. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1970. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1976. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1977. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1978. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1979. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1980. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1981. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1983. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1984. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1985. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1986. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1990. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1996. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 1999. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 2000. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 2001. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Magazine advert from 2006. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Calendar from 2010. [credit]

A History of Print Ads from Wild Turkey Bourbon Print advert from 2011.

It’s Black Friday week on WonderHowTo! Don’t miss out on all of the big sales in the Gadget Hacks and Null Byte shops. And if you’ve been wanting to take some classes without going into debt, check out our best deals on online courses for a variety of skill sets. Don’t miss out on these huge discounts:

See Gadget Hacks’s top 10 BF sales on online courses (up to 99% off) >

See Null Byte’s top 13 BF sales on online courses (up to 99% off) >