John Wayne's Favorite Whiskey Brand Is Still Wildly Beloved Today

John Wayne, star of the silver screen in classic westerns and war films, is such an icon in Hollywood that the mere mention of his name still echoes an aura of fortitude today. "The Duke" may have been classic Hollywood's most memorable gunslinger, spewing classic movie quotes like "A man's got to do what a man's got to do," but when it came to doing things behind the scenes, what this man did was curl up to his favorite brand of bourbon whiskey: Wild Turkey.

Wild Turkey's origins date as far back as 1851, when Irish brothers James and John Ripy arrived in Kentucky to distill and sell whiskey through their grocery partner, Austin Nichols. In 1869, they opened their distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, on Wild Turkey Hill — however, the location was not its eponym. The Wild Turkey bourbon brand didn't come to be until 1940, after Nichols had taken control of the distillery and scaled it into a bigger business. It was one of the distillery executives, Thomas McCarthy, who suggested the Wild Turkey name after pouring the bourbon out for his friends on a hunting trip — as they were in search of wild turkey.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, California, Wayne started becoming a star around the studios, and as a fan and collector of whiskey, he'd often have bottles of bourbon shipped to the set. Amongst them was what he considered his favorite, Wild Turkey, an American-made bourbon for a true American icon.

Over the years, Wild Turkey has endured as one of the best bourbon brands, but it wasn't Wayne's only favorite. He cherished some other spirits that he kept in a private collection — one that, after his passing, was unlocked by his son Ethan Wayne. Inspired by his father's personal curation of bottles, Ethan founded Duke Spirits in 2013 to honor him. The brand produces bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, and even tequila. After analyzing The Duke's bottle collection and building conclusions from it, Duke Spirits is able to carry on Wayne's legacy in bourbon by crafting spirits that reflect his tastes.

Wayne had other favorite drinks beyond his usual straight pour of Wild Turkey. It's reported that he also enjoyed tequila — specifically Sauza Conmemorativo — which he loved so much he chose to gift cases of it to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during his historic visit to the United States in 1959. The Duke also enjoyed a fine Bordeaux, Champagne, and a variety of mixed cocktails, typically containing sugar and Angostura orange bitters — and a bourbon like Wild Turkey, of course. Timeless and affordable, Wild Turkey is still a go-to bourbon whiskey for anyone, whether they ride off on horseback into the sunset or not.