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.
All aboard! On Wednesday, November 26th, we’ll be cruising through Des Moines in the new Templeton Rye shuttle bus for our first annual Thanksgiving Tour of Des Moines. We’re honored to have such loyal supporters, so this is our way of saying “thanks” for another great year.
The TR shuttle bus will be making special stops throughout the Des Moines metro area, providing groups of up to 12 people a sweet getaway from the monotonous “day-before-Thanksgiving” workday. In case you want to get an early jump on your holiday shopping, we’ll have Templeton Rye merchandise available for purchase. But let’s get one thing straight: This isn’t about selling you stuff, it’s about meeting you all and saying thank you.
Want us to add your workplace to the route? All you need to do is round up a dozen people from your office who love Templeton Rye as much as you do, and ask them to take a short break from work to hang out on the TR shuttle bus. Once you’ve got your group confirmed, please e-mail us at info@templetonrye.com with your location and we will add you to the route!
Iowa Governor Chet Culver was in Carroll County over the weekend for the annual Governor’s Pheasant Hunt, and he stopped by the distillery to say hello. We gave Governor Culver a tour, discussed the history of TR, and chatted about opportunities and challenges facing our company. Our team really appreciated the Governor making time to visit us.
Pictured, from left to right: Assistant Master Distiller Keith Kerkhoff, Brand Manager Mike Killmer, President Scott Bush, Governor Chet Culver
For those of you interested in an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the history of Templeton Rye, we are now offering The Ultimate Templeton Experience: an exclusive trip for groups of up to 20 people aboard our private TR shuttle bus. We’ll pick up your guests at a designated meeting spot, provide transportation to and from Templeton, Iowa, and treat your group to lunch and refreshments — both aboard the bus and at the distillery.
The experience is perfect for groups of friends or corporate outings, and can be customized to include any of the following activities:
Please e-mail us at templetonexperience@templetonrye.com for more details and available dates.
Full Court Press group visits the Templeton Rye tasting room
In October, we embarked on our maiden voyage in the new Templeton Rye shuttle bus, bringing along the owners and staff from Full Court Press for a VIP distillery tour. Full Court Press operates several of the coolest and most unique bars in
Our brand new Templeton Rye shuttle bus
Our day included a tour of the distillery, a classic cocktail demonstration in the tasting room, and lunch at the Corner Station (the local diner that also serves as a convenience store / gas station). We then headed north to Maple Valley Junction to Little Gus’s for some post-lunch beers and good times.
If you are interested in a tour of the TR distillery, please visit our tours page for dates and times.
Iowa Liquor Commissioner Lynn Walding lends a hand on the bottling line.
Lynn Walding, Administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, recently visited the Templeton Rye distillery and toured our updated production, laboratory, warehouse, bottling and storage facilities. Commissioner Walding was joined by Steve Kuzynowski, Design Engineer for the Iowa ABD.
The tour concluded with lunch at the legendary Corner Station in Templeton, where we discussed distilleries in Iowa and how the Iowa ABD division operates. Distilleries are relatively new to Iowa, so we’re all learning as we go. We really appreciate Commissioner Walding taking the time to visit and tour our new-and-improved facility. Lynn is a former NABCA President and is well-known in the industry.
On October 9, 2008, we rolled out a dozen barrels in Templeton to pull samples for tasting, testing and inventory. We proof tested the strength of the whiskey and tasted a sample from each barrel. The whiskey has been aging for roughly two-and-a-half years and is well on its way to becoming what you’d expect from Templeton Rye.
Templeton Rye Brand Manager Michael Killmer rolls out the barrels of whiskey.
Distillery Manager Kevin Boersma proof tests one of the barrels.
Gale Bishop, Emeritus Professor of Geology at Georgia Southern University, sent us a story about a white loggerhead sea turtle named “Templeton” that was released into the Atlantic Ocean on August 25th from St. Catherines Island.
Templeton the Turtle hatched on August 24, 2008 (one of 81 sibling loggerhead sea turtles from one nest). The nest had just survived the tempests of Tropical Storm Kay on the Georgia coast. Templeton was the second white turtle of the 2008 nesting season (that’s two among 8037 hatchlings). According to Gale, Templeton should return to St. Catherines Island in approximately 30 years as a sexually-mature sea turtle, after growing from the size of a silver dollar to the size of a large wash-tub. You can visit the SCI Sea Turtle Program website at www.scistp.org to learn about what’s happening with sea turtles on Georgia’s coast.
Gale also writes:
Templeton Rye is rapidly gaining favor (or is that flavor?) here on St. Catherines Island, which, in the best of Prohibition tradition, is “run in” by automobile from Northeast Iowa.
Thanks for the story, Gale! We’re delighted that Templeton Rye has found its way to Georgia, and we hope to spot Templeton the Turtle again in 30 years.
