We tracked down and interviewed Shane Smith about his Great Grandfather, who distilled whiskey on the farm, and his Great Uncle who sold lots of sugar at his store in Halbur, Iowa.

View more stories on YouTube at our Templeton Rye channel.

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In 1931, a cardboard cutout of a little brown jug with the words X-Mas Spirits was raised along with the holiday lights above Main Street in Templeton. Many claim it was done with the aid of at least one person who occupied an important position in the civic and municipal affairs of the town. A picture of the little brown jug ended up on the front page of the Des Moines Register, which led to the most intense and sustained period of federal raids on booze-making around the town of Templeton, ever.

This holiday season, a little brown jug hangs once again in Templeton. Replicas of the original X-Mas Spirits jugs can be seen hanging at the St. Peters Castle jail and on the Templeton Rye Main Street display at the Des Moines International Airport.

A little brown jug hangs at the St. Peters Castle jail in Templeton.

Another X-Mas Spirits jug hangs on the Templeton Rye Main Street display at the Des Moines International Airport.

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This Flickr post by Genie Gratto couldn’t be more timely with the holiday travel season upon us. Genie, a resident of Oakland, California, shares her story below about how her friends “smuggled” a few 3-oz. bottles of Templeton Rye from Iowa to the West Coast.

Photo credit: inadvertentgardener via Flickr

Friends from Iowa came to visit last weekend, and I had asked them to bring me a bottle of Templeton Rye. However, they were flying with carry-on bags only, so they said they’d have to see what they could do. Thusly and therefore? Here’s a TSA-approved, quart-sized bag of three-ounce bottles of Templeton. My friends rule.

Cheers to Genie’s friends for their craftiness and ingenuity. Looks like the sly spirit of the Iowa farmers who bootlegged whiskey during Prohibition is alive and well.

Templeton Rye’s founder, Scott Bush, was recently featured on Iowa Public Radio’s The Exchange with Ben Keiffer. We’ve posted the audio file in its entirety below. Click the play button to begin listening.

Jim Schumburg of Rockford, Iowa, talks about meeting Al Capone’s driver at a mortuary in the 1960s, and the ties back to Templeton Rye Whiskey.

Here’s a delicious Templeton Rye and egg nog concoction just in time for the holidays. Serve some up at your holiday gatherings and let us know what you think!

Templeton Rye Egg Nog
2 oz. Templeton Rye Whiskey
4 oz. Egg Nog
Build in a whiskey glass, transfer to mixing tin and shake vigorously. Strain over ice and grate fresh nutmeg on top.

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