Mike Moore from Madison, Indiana, wrote to us back in October 2007 with this fantastic Templeton Rye story:

My father-in-law, O.J. Berger, is from Templeton, Iowa, and is 90 years old. Mr. Berger tells the family that his mother, Dora Berger, had the only glass funnel in Templeton and some of the farmers would bring their liquor over and use her funnel to pour the Templeton Rye into smaller flasks.

As a child he remembers the local men of the town being arrested and marched off to jail by federal authorities. Mr. Berger tells the story that only two basements were not raided in Templeton — one was the scene of a wake and there was a body in the basement.

Mr. Berger is quite active and my wife and I ordered a bottle of Templeton Rye for him, which he proudly displays to all visitors and family.

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

Harry W. Harmeyer discusses the Chevy getaway car used to escape from revenue agents in Templeton, Iowa, back in the 1930s.

To view more TR stories on YouTube, please visit our channel.

We’re always delighted to hear your stories about TR. Jim from Minneapolis wrote to us with the following memory:

My mother lived in Templeton, Iowa, from around 1920 to 1950. She now lives in Waterloo. I am her son, age 49. When I was a young boy I was sometimes given a tablespoon of Templeton Rye when I had a bad chest cold. The combination of the alcohol and liquid coating seemed to work.

Thanks for sharing, Jim!

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

Fay Irlbeck Schleisman, a Templeton native, shares the story of Al Capone’s visit to the small town to arrange shipments of TR to Chicago:

View more stories on YouTube at our Templeton Rye channel.

One of our goals at Templeton Rye is to document all the classic TR stories, as told by the people who lived them. We’re now proudly sharing these videos on YouTube. Please visit our channel at YouTube.com/templetonryewhiskey.

Above is a story from Wilfred “Bud” Irlmeier. His granddaughter, Tracy Olberding, recently wrote to us with the following note:

My Grandpa Bud (Wilfred Irlmeier) passed away on November 25, 2007; he was born in Templeton and was married to my Grandma Toni for 62 years. He enjoyed spending time with his family and will be missed greatly by all of us. We had many wonderful family memories including several about Templeton and Templeton Rye.