This is the last of our 4-part Happy Hour at The Plaza TR story videos series. In this video, the residents share a few more memories about Templeton Rye during the prohibition era and raise their glasses to The Good Stuff.

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Don Westoff of One North in Chicago talks about Templeton Rye whiskey.

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We continue our 4-part TR story series this week with part 3 of Happy Hour at The Plaza. In this video, a resident of The Plaza named Hilda shares a few stories involving the revenuers, drunk hogs and her father hiding Templeton Rye under the swing set.

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Templeton Rye Brand Manager and Brand Ambassador for Chicago Michael Killmer demonstrates how to make The Templeton Press.

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Back in April, our blogger friends Marshall Fawley and SeanMike Whipkey announced a contest on Scofflaw’s Den that challenged their readers to create and submit spring-inspired rye whiskey cocktail recipes. Each submission was graded on a ten point scale for the following categories:

-Does the cocktail have a spring theme?
-Is it a rye whiskey base?
-Taste
-Color/Presentation
-Uniqueness

A big congratulations to to the winners, Craig, Jeff, and Gabe. See all three winning cocktail recipes here. We’d like to thank Marshall and SeanMike for creating the contest in our honor and for sharing The Good Stuff with their first place winner, Craig “Dr. Bamboo” Mrusek, who received a bottle of “Marshall’s Mountain Moonshine Bitters” and a bottle of Templeton Rye. Here’s his winning cocktail recipe.

Jetpack by Craig “Dr. Bamboo” Mrusek

1 oz Rye
1 oz Zubrowka Bison Grass vodka
.5 oz Schladerer Kirschwasser (I used Clear Creek)
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz lime juice
1 dash Fee’s Mint Bitters

Shake all with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

For more Templeton Rye recipes, be sure to check out the Barkeep page on our website.

We continue our 4-part TR story series with a video of residents of The Plaza, an assisted living facility in Manning, Iowa, reminiscing about The Good Stuff with Templeton Rye’s Keith Kerkhoff and Jason Walsmith during their weekly happy hour.

One resident tastes the “legal” Templeton Rye for the first time at the age of 91. Another resident, Florence Parson, shares a story about a doctor nursing her mother back to health with Templeton Rye in 1929.

Want to see more videos? Please visit our YouTube channel.

Staff from Trostel’s pose for a photo with Templeton Rye team members

We were pleased to welcome various members of Trostel’s Dish and Greenbriar staff to Templeton for a visit in June.

It was a great day, with a lively bus ride and great tour focusing on the history of Templeton Rye and the production, aging and bottling process. We really appreciate the enthusiasm for Templeton Rye shown by these great restaurateurs.

We highly recommend these great spots for drinks and/or dinner. Dish is located at 12851 University Avenue, Suite 400 in Clive, Iowa, and Greenbriar is located at 5810 Merle Hay Road in Johnston, Iowa.

Templeton Rye bottlers Gin Knobbe and Anna Mae Irlmeier show the Trostel’s staff members how to label the bottles

Trostel’s staff learning about the Templeton Rye production, aging and bottling process

On June 22, 2009, Steve Cannon will begin an 11-day, 300-mile run across Iowa to celebrate life. During those 11 days, he will run with children battling cancer, cancer survivors and those wanting to honor the memory of a family member or friend. The purpose of The Run To Cure Cancer is to create awareness, raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and to give hope.

When we heard Steve’s story, we thought it was great that he was doing something so unique and cool in Iowa for such a good cause, and we wanted to help in any way. The Templeton Rye bus will be the official support vehicle of The Run To Cure Cancer. Check out Steve’s blog post about supporting “The Run” to learn how you can climb aboard the Templeton Rye bus for a day or a week to help support his cause.

Please join us in supporting Steve at the Fundraising Party on Friday, June 26th at Colby Park in Windsor Heights, Iowa. We will celebrate with an evening of BBQ, beer, pop, and free massages for anyone who runs or bikes to the party.

Templeton Rye intern Claire Bisanz with Meryl & Keith Kerkhoff

The Templeton Rye team is pleased to welcome our new summer intern, Claire Bisanz. Claire is originally from the Twin Cities and is a student at Iowa State University studying Marketing and Spanish.

We are happy to have Claire on the team and look forward to her work helping us continue to develop and execute various strategic plans.

Autumn Griffith, bar manager at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago talks about how Templeton Rye fits into their company mantra and their bar.

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The Plaza is an assisted living facility in Manning, Iowa. Manning is a neighboring town to Templeton, and many of the people who live there are lifelong residents of the region. Every Friday afternoon they have a happy hour. On this particular Friday, the function was hosted by Templeton Rye. After a couple of sips, everyone started reminiscing.

We kick off this TR story series with a video of Merlin Rostermundt of Manning, Iowa, sharing his memories about Templeton Rye and his grandfather’s visit from The Feds.

Want to see more videos? Please visit our YouTube channel.

Templeton Rye Brand Manager Michael Killmer demonstrates how to make the classic cocktail The Capone.

Want to see more videos? Please visit our YouTube channel.

The bartender at Reggie’s in Chicago talks about their Templeton Rye wall of fame.

This thermometer and hydrometer were given to Templeton Rye founder Scott Bush by his maternal grandmother, Mary Margeret Blum Schroeder. They were given to Grandma Schroeder by her mother, Mava Bennett Blum.

Mava, who is Scott’s great-grandmother, was born in 1903 and was one of the first female graduates from Creighton University in 1924. During her teens, she would accompany her father Jess Bennett, on various “runs.” Jess, born in the 1870’s, was an entrepreneur and owned at least one bar in Omaha. His other business was bootlegging, particularly around Defiance, Iowa.

Mava had many stories about these times but told only a few, including being chased and shot at by the Feds and abandoning several cars. Jess was apparently also quite a card player with winnings including a wheat farm in South Dakota, a gold tooth and a beautiful diamond ring still worn by his granddaughter Mary today.

Photo credit: Mandy Miller Photography
Templeton Rye President Scott Bush and his grandmother Mary Margeret Blum Schroeder

Hi folks,

We are very excited about our new landscaping project at the distillery. We have planted a variety of native flowers and grasses around the distillery, including Indian Grass, Big and Little Bluestem, Butterfly Milkweed, Black Eyed Susan, Spider Wort, Purple Coneflower and Aromatic Aster.

A special thanks to our friends Liz Garst and Elizabeth Hill at Whiterock Conservancy, Gloria from Windy Ridge Flowers in Coon Rapids and Linda and Tobin Bush for all of their great work.

Like most things in our business, it will probably take a few years to be ready, but we are very excited about our collection of native Iowa flowers and grasses. Please come visit us and see for yourself.

All the best,

Scott Bush
President, Templeton Rye

Scott Wegner from Salt Lake City, Utah, sent us a TR cocktail recipe for a concoction he created last spring called The Wall Street. He wrote us again this spring to share this story and remind everyone that The Wall Street makes for a great summer cocktail.

To those at Templeton Rye,

I have been drinking Templeton Rye for over a year now and continue to enjoy every sip. I grew up in Des Moines but now live in Salt Lake City. A few of my lucky friends have had the opportunity to try Templeton and fell in love. Unfortunately I can’t get Templeton in Utah so every trip home to Iowa I “bootleg” as many bottles as I can back to Utah. My friends demand for your whiskey far surpasses what I can fit in my suitcase. Anyhow, I work as a bartender and this is a recipe I invented and everyone seems to enjoy, especially during the summer. Hopefully in the future Templeton will be available in Utah so I can pour my favortie whiskey for my bar patrons and not just friends at my house. I hope you enjoy my recipe…

Scott Wegner

Click here to view Scott Wegner’s recipe for The Wall Street.

For more Templeton Rye recipes, be sure to check out the Barkeep page on our website.

Last night I had the pleasure of sponsoring a BBQ book release party for one of Chicago’s famous BBQ experts Gary Wiviott. Paramount Room  (415 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL) graciously hosted the event.  Paramount Room featured classic cocktails made with Templeton Rye, along with Paramount’s own creations The Daisy and the Carroll County Fair Sour.  

Gary teamed up with author Colleen Rush to share his impeccable attention to detail and his gift for keeping it simple.  Colleen waded through Gary’s boisterous personality and helped breakdown his methods and expertise.  This book breaks down the basic techniques of BBQ and will make any novice into a pro.  Gary also shares some of is time tested recipes for sauce, rubs and all things BBQ. It was a great night and I had the opportunity to talk with some of Chicago’s media and some of Gary’s companions at LTH Forum.  

I think everyone is excited for warm weather BBQ and refreshing Templeton Rye drinks this summer.  Please feel free to create some of your own cocktails this summer and share them with us.  Bartenders all over the country are enjoying the spicy notes of Templeton and combining them with fresh and interesting ingredients.  

Happy tippling,

Michael Killmer, Brand Manager

Ron Hodne from Manning, Iowa, talks about his Chicago connections to Templeton Rye during the Prohibition Era.

View more stories on YouTube at our Templeton Rye channel.

Got a TR story of your own to share? Please leave a comment below, or click here to tell us all about it.

Templeton Rye Brand Manager Michael Killmer demonstrates how to make the classic cocktail The Manhattan.

Click here for The Manhattan recipe (plus others), and don’t forget to follow Brand Manager Michael Killmer on Twitter to keep up to date on Templeton Rye events and classic cocktail tutorials in Chicago.

Want to see more videos? Please visit our YouTube channel.

Photo courtesy of the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market Facebook Page

The Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market kicks off this Saturday, May 2nd with Opening Day at the Historic Court Avenue District. The Downtown Farmers Market goes rain or shine every Saturday 7 a.m. - noon, May 2nd through October 31st, 2009. You can expect to see nearly 200 vendors from 47 counties at the Farmers Market this year.

Templeton Rye is excited to return to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market again this season. You can find our booth at the Farmers Market on the following Saturdays: May 23rd, June 13th, June 20th, June 27th, July 11th, August 15th and September 12th. Be sure to stop by and say “hello” to the Templeton Rye team.