Templeton Rye Small Batch Whiskey Review

Our decision to showcase Templeton Rye Whiskey for our most recent guest night, I think, was a good one. The other option was to find a heavy rye based bourbon, but since whiskey is booming right now, and rye whiskey is also rising, let’s just go for it and give the newbies a bold rye. A few quick points on today’s review of Templeton Rye…

Everybody loves a good story, especially when it is connected to a whiskey brand. As the story goes, rye was a plentiful crop at the time in Templeton, IA, during Prohibition. Local farmers needed cash flow, as a lot of other people across the country did at the time, and shined a rye liquor to be sold all across the Midwest. This rye moonshine from Iowa became quite popular throughout the Midwest and even was rumored to be Al Capone’s favorite whiskey. This story is of course absolute gold plated bullshit, we’re sorry to say, since Templeton simply sourced whiskey already made in Indiana at MGP and added flavoring to it. Not as romantic, but all well.

So more on that. A descendant of one of those farmers decided to revive the recipe (90 to 95% rye, the rest – malted barley), and contacted Lawrenceburg Distillers (now MGP) to distill and age that very rye “recipe” to be bottled and sold out of their headquarters in Templeton. After a few years they are now enjoying a nationwide distribution, even to our little hamlet in Spokane, WA. They are also getting sued for not disclosing the whole truth on the bottle. But no one cares, so read on for our opinion…

SWC Group Review

Nose– Variety of rye spiciness – peppery, dusty, all spice. Grassy and herbal, even bubble gum sweet and a dash of oak.

Taste– Dry rye and sweet compete. Unwanted metallic note.

Finish– Short to medium. Doughy rye, dry with a tinge of sweet. Oak as well.

Comment– The nose was the highlight. Taste and finish had some issues including a metallic note on the palate. Interesting enough for some further exploration.

SWC Rating- 80/100

Contact us at: SpokaneWhiskey@gmail.com