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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When Prohibition outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in 1920, many enterprising residents of a small Iowa town chose to become outlaws – producing a high caliber and much sought-after whiskey known as Templeton Rye.
