Templeton Rye

Templeton Prohibition Era Recipe Rye, 750ml, 80 proof, squat bottle, no extra packaging, about $35-40, limited availability. This is Batch 3, Barrel 100, Bottle 146



A bomb from MoeCizlak arrived with the requirement that I do a review. Go ahead, twist my arm

Templeton Rye claims to be the whiskey of Al Capone, his favorite that he used for bootlegging operations. Nice story but how much if any is fact can't be proved although there are some anecdotal stories on the Templeton Rye website. Although there is no age statement on the bottle based on when the distillery started operation and the release date it is fairly certain that this rye is 5 years old. There are really good whiskies at 5 years old but we are becoming conditioned to think that old is better and that is not always the case. Certainly not in this case. Another note in it's favor is that Templeton Rye may be the only rye to have a song by name. (see song 4).

Templeton Rye noses a bright floral sweet rye, not in your face as some of the really aged ryes. The taste is smooth, I mean baby's ass on Teflon smooth. This stuff goes down far too easy. The rye is well placed at the back of the tongue while the floral and sweet notes dance on the front. The finish continues the smooth sweetness for a short period of time on the tip of the tongue but the rye stays for a very long time at the back. I've only had a few whiskies ever that have done that. I really like this but another reviewer said the best line about it: “imagine the flavor of Jack Daniels, but lighter. And now imagine that it’s actually good.”

Find it, buy it.

Thanks Moe!

There was an entire thread on sb.com about this rye. I think someone there got in touch with the owner of templeton and he admitted to having bought aged rye product from another distillery. Not sure if he admitted the age though. If I find the thread I'll post any facts that are known. Great review though, I expected it to be a dud.

Nice review Ray. I have enjoyed this on several occasions but have not had other ryes so I have nothing to compare it to. This stuff is getting harder and harder to find. Glad you enjoyed it.

Here's a related article that appeared in today's Sunday paper here. LINK It kind of helps explain why I was having a tough time finding it and will continue to for the next couple of months. If anyone wishes to try this, let me know and I'll see what I can come up with.

Before meeting sack (Claudio) to herf in Chicago I picked up a bottle of this.

I paid approx $40 for the fifth in Illinois. My only regret was not getting another one.

Claudio and I really enjoyed that bottle a lot. After killing one of his Dark Lord's we only drank about 3 ounces each (neat) and I think Ray's review hit the nail on the head. It is an incredibley smooth and sweet Rye. In fact this was close to the time when I first tried Zacapa 23 and I would put this Rye closer to that rum then I would to, for example, Knob Creek.

Great review as always Ray, thank you so much.

As for the rest of the bottle, I gave it to Claudio and he was dishing it out to the folks at the 8 to 8 herf last weekend. :thumbs:

It does go down easy but I won't mistake it for a rum.

AVB said:

It does go down easy but I won't mistake it for a rum.

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Way too easy.

God damn, this is good whiskey. You should't have moe, but I'm glad you did.

Doc.

After reading this thread and one from another forum I called the local distributor to see if they had any. He said they got 6 bottles a month and today (yesterday) was the day they were coming in. He then said that they last 15 minutes on the shelf and if he could take a waiting list it would take a year and a half to fill it with how much they get. I thought, great, I'm never going to find this stuff.

He then told me the truck usually got there by 2:30 and was running late (it was 3:00) when I called). I was waiting for a part to finish a customer's car and my partner was gone so by the time I left it was 4:00, I had a spark of hope.

I pulled into the lot and there was a delivery truck still idling at the curb and I knew my chances were good. I asked the clerk where the Templeton was kept and she told me it was still in the back room. Jackpot! They brought the one case up to the counter and took one bottle out, I asked for "two please".

While I was helped at the counter the manager got on the phone, called two bar owners, and told them it came in. One of them was angry because he didn't get all 6 bottles. I asked him which bars bought it to serve and the manager told me they don't even make it to the bar. The bar owners sell them to their friends for $60.00 a bottle (they cost $37.50 + tax and 5 cent deposit.)

So last light I had two glasses of Templeton's. It is very good, better than a lot of single malt scotches I have had in the same price range. I drank it neat at room temperature, I just wish it were warmer so I could enjoy a smoke with it...

You all really should feel ashamed. I'm trying to focus on certain things I really like (brandies, sigle malts etc), then someone has to come on and recommend something and soon it is added to my "to try list". Shame.

My parents gave me an article from a local magazine that shed a little more light on this stuff. HERE is a link to the online story. Sounds like this guy is pretty sharp and will hopefully find a way to make it more available without sacrificing quality. It even hints at the "Good Stuff" that I was fortunate enough to sample. Ray, I know I've spoken to you about this "Good Stuff" but do you have any insight as to who might have made it?

I'm willing to bet it is Heaven Hill product. Real Templeton, distilled in Iowa, won't be ready until next year.

Thanks for the review! Being a rye fan, I'll be picking this up.

I usually drink Wild Turkey 101 Rye but an 80 with good flavor will be a nice alternative.

This stuff is intruiging...

Bourbon to me is like the Michael Coreleone of booze. "Just when I though I was out, they pull me back in!!" Everytime I tell myself I own / have tried enough and I start to venture in different directions something like this pops up. Good news is for $40 it is not too cost prohibitive to try.

Does anybody have any sources on this stuff? I checked out their website and all the mentioned distibutors appear to be out of stock and distibution appears to be limited to Iowa and Illinois.

Greggj77 said:

This stuff is intruiging...

Bourbon to me is like the Michael Coreleone of booze. "Just when I though I was out, they pull me back in!!" Everytime I tell myself I own / have tried enough and I start to venture in different directions something like this pops up. Good news is for $40 it is not too cost prohibitive to try.

Does anybody have any sources on this stuff? I checked out their website and all the mentioned distibutors appear to be out of stock and distibution appears to be limited to Iowa and Illinois.

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Binny's used to have it for sale. I'm not seeing it now. I would keep an eye on their website as they are located in Illinois.

Jamie76 said:

Greggj77 said:

This stuff is intruiging...

Bourbon to me is like the Michael Coreleone of booze. "Just when I though I was out, they pull me back in!!" Everytime I tell myself I own / have tried enough and I start to venture in different directions something like this pops up. Good news is for $40 it is not too cost prohibitive to try.

Does anybody have any sources on this stuff? I checked out their website and all the mentioned distibutors appear to be out of stock and distibution appears to be limited to Iowa and Illinois.

Click to expand...

Binny's used to have it for sale. I'm not seeing it now. I would keep an eye on their website as they are located in Illinois.

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Thanks for the heads up. I will keep a look out on their site.

AVB said:

I'm willing to bet it is Heaven Hill product. Real Templeton, distilled in Iowa, won't be ready until next year.

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Thanks Ray. So would it be logical to expect the taste to change, if only slightly?

It might change over time but I bet that they'll do a dump of their whiskey and what they bought slowly changing the ratio until they can produce enough on their own. They difference will be what you can get now and what you will get in 5-7 years.

Supposedly batch 4 hit shelves across Iowa this week. Reports are it's mostly all gone already. Wish I lived closer to Iowa.

I hope some folks were able to nab a bottle.

4,000 cases were sent out - and it's all gone already...

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-templeton-rye-craze-120910,0,6029433.story