Patrick Poncher of Five Star Bar in Chicago, Illinois, talks about how he prefers Templeton Rye whiskey over Bourbon and how their patrons are hooked on The Good Stuff.

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We recently welcomed several teams of riders from Iowa’s big bike ride across Iowa to our BootLEG Tour at the Templeton Rye distillery. We really enjoy this unique event, and it’s a great way to welcome folks to Iowa and showcase our state and people. Many thanks to everyone who came by for some tours and fun, and all our best to the riders for a fun and safe ride across our great state.

Bob Hoffman of Carroll County, Iowa, talks about growing up in Templeton and how he and his friends would capitalize on the success of the bootleggers by redeeming their empty bottles for five cents each. Once they redeemed the bottles, the hotel clerk on Main Street would put them in a storage shed on his lot for safekeeping. Find out in the video below how Bob and his friends “liberated” the bottles to keep them moving.

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The Green City Market is Chicago’s only year-round farmers’ market promoting local, sustainable farmers, producers and chefs. Last night I joined over 75 of Chicago’s most innovative chefs at the Green City Market Annual Chef’s BBQ in Lincoln Park. It was a celebration of all things local, from farm to plate.

The chefs shopped the market Wednesday morning, and then went back to their kitchens in a giant tailgate-like setup to create the freshest dishes in the city. Chef Rick Gresh from David Burke’s Prime House even included a little of The Good Stuff in his dish. All of his ingredients originated from less than a thousand miles from Chicago. He started with dry aged prime ribeye, topped with fingerling potatoes combined with Templeton Rye to make a warm potato salad. It was amazing!

While the chefs were busy firing up the grills, I was busy with 3 of the top mixologists in Chicago batching cocktails. BOKA’s Dan De Oliveira and Sepia’s Josh Pearson and Peter Vestinos all volunteered to create special cocktails for TR, Death’s Door Spirits and Casa Noble Tequila. Josh from Sepia created a Templeton Rye cocktail called the R&R Smash, which included fresh-pitted cherries supplied by Pete from Seedling Fruits in South Haven, Michigan.

R&R Smash Templeton Rye:
Templeton Rye
pitted cherries
rosemary leaves
lemon balm leaves
lemon juice
simple syrup

BOKA’s Dan De Oliveira and Sepia’s Josh Pearson and Peter Vestinos making the R&R Smash cocktail

The event was a huge success and we made lots of new fans. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello and who are embracing the “farm to table” movement.

Cheers,

Michael Killmer, Brand Manager

The Templeton Rye team recently welcomed some special visitors to the distillery, Troy Cobb and Zach Snavely. The duo set out from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, on their bicycles and are headed all the way to Oregon. Needless to say we were impressed with their dedication. You can track their ride at crazyguyonabike.com/troyandzach.

Troy and Zach ran into some Templeton Rye fans in eastern Iowa, who suggested they come through Templeton. We gave the guys a tour and treated them to a nice lunch at the Corner Station to help fuel their ride. We also gave them a couple of Templeton Rye shirts to wear at their various stops. Best of luck to Troy and Zach and thanks for stopping by the Templeton Rye Distillery.

Templeton Rye’s own Merlyn Zubrod shows us his handmade custom Templeton Rye bottle displays and talks about the inspiration behind them.

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Benjamin Schiller from In Fine Spirits talks about their appreciation for Templeton Rye and demonstrates how to make his signature cocktail.

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The Templeton Rye team recently welcomed a group of bartenders from Ames to the tour the distillery. Our visitors consisted of folks from Es Tas, Legends, Mickey’s Irish Pub and Thumbs. They toured the distillery and learned a lot about the history of Templeton Rye, dating back to the Prohibition Era. They also received a cocktail tutorial featuring the Classic Manhattan and TR’s own Shirley Templeton. After the VIP tour, the group had a great lunch at Templeton’s own Corner Station and went on a tour of the town. We invite all of you to check out one of these great bars the next time you are in the Ames area.

If you have a bar that is interested in a tour of our facility, please email us at info@templetonrye.com.

We’ve been having a great time meeting new folks and seeing old friends at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market so far this summer. We’ll be back at the market again on July 11, July 25, August 15 and September 12, selling wood barrel smoking chips and TR merchandise. We hope to see you there! Here are some video highlights:

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The Templeton Rye team was honored to be involved with our friend Steve Cannon as he courageously ran all the way across Iowa in The Run to Cure Cancer. We are always on the lookout for folks in Iowa doing special things, and we were happy to allow Steve to use our bus as his support vehicle.

We are pleased to report that Steve completed his run on July 2nd and has raised valuable funds to support research. Congratulations to you, Steve, and thanks for making a difference! You can track Steve and help support his efforts at http://theruntocurecancer.com.

Templeton Rye was a proud sponsor for the 2nd year in a row of the Mods vs. Rockers vintage motorcycle and scooter rally in Chicago on June 20th. The rally is based at Delilah’s, the world famous whiskey bar. Below are some highlights:

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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