During Chicago Whiskey Week, the Templeton team shot down to Munster, Indiana, to visit our friends at 3 Floyds Brewery and deliver them some freshly dumped Templeton Rye barrels for one of their barrel aged beers.
If you are not familiar with 3 Floyds, the are one of our favorite craft breweries in the country and have a amazing following. On the last Saturday in April they host “Dark Lord Day” where thousands of fans come hang out and try some of their specialty beers.
We toured the facility with Barnaby and Lincoln, tried some great beers including the Gumballhead and Dreadnaught and had a great lunch at the brew pub. We also talked through some details on a new project that we are really excited about. More details to come.
Above: A YouTube message from Scott Bush and Keith Kerkhoff, addressing Batch 4 availability and some common misconceptions.
Greetings from Templeton. We wanted to share our 2011 allocation update with you as well as various other facts in light of some rumors flying around Iowa. We have always tried to openly communicate with our partners and customers and want to make sure you have good information.
As many of you know, our product is aged in new charred oak barrels for more than four years, so we are only able to sell today what we had distilled in 2006/2007. We refused to rush our product or sacrifice quality, which has led to a long game of hurry-up-and-wait. We started to expand production at the end of 2006 and that product began to come online in December 2010. However, demand for Templeton Rye has expanded right with this increased supply. We sent 5,000 cases to the State of Iowa in December and were as shocked as anyone that they were all sold in a week. We honestly thought that 5,000 cases would go a long ways toward filling the Iowa pipeline. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
2011 Supply and Allocation
Below is our December 2010 – December 2011 preliminary allocation. We will be sending these cases to each market (Iowa, Chicago, New York City and San Francisco) at the beginning of each month. As you can see, we sent nearly 80% of our December allotment to Iowa and will continue to do our best to supply our home state while balancing the future growth for our company. In fact, the Iowa allocation below is 33% higher than the allocation we shared with the state back in June. Most people in the industry think we are crazy to allocate this much product to Iowa, but it is important to us as Iowa people and as an Iowa company. Please support us on this fact if you hear folks saying we are “sending all our product out of state.”
Iowa Allocation and Procedure
Iowa is what is known in the industry as a “Control State,” meaning the State of Iowa acts as the distributor for spirits state-wide. We sell every bottle of Templeton Rye in Iowa to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (also known as the ABD). The ABD applies a “mark-up” or tax, and sells the product to licensees (spirits retailers). Please note that despite serious pressure, we have not changed our price to the ABD. The ABD applies a set mark-up and retailers have the liberty to set the final price charged to consumers.
The ABD allocates the cases we send them every month to “uniformly distribute” them amongst licensees. They decide how many cases each licensee can order every month and they begin to fill orders on a certain day. Iowa licensees order on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday with delivery the following day. Depending on what day of the week a licensee orders, and the amount of product sent in that month, they may or may not get any product that particular month.
Each party mentioned above is in a tough spot because of the supply/demand situation. We realize that and truly appreciate their efforts. What we want to make clear is that once we sell product to the ABD we do not control where it ends up or the price on the shelf. We have a lot more influence on those items in other states, and quite frankly, if Iowa were not our home state we would probably allocate much less product here.
Selling at the Distillery
We have legally been able to sell product at the distillery since July 2010. We chose not to sell at the distillery because we did not think it was the right thing to do with our retail partners in such short supply. We thought the Dec 2010 allocation would go a long way towards filling the Iowa pipeline and we had planned to start selling at the distillery on January 1st. Because the December ’10 allocation went so quickly, we have put those plans on hold. We honestly do not know if (or when) we will start to sell Templeton Rye at the distillery. Please watch our newsletter for any updates on this subject.
Where to Find a Bottle?
Once we sell a bottle to the ABD we do not have any information as to where it will end up, so we can’t really help find a retailer that has product in stock. Retailers can only sell what they get allocated from the state, which is limited by the amount of product we send to the ABD – so we ask that you please do not get frustrated with retailers. They are doing the best they can in a tough situation and would obviously be happy to sell you a bottle if they could.
One option is to search various stores the first week or two of each month and hopefully find a bottle in stock. We have also noticed a lot of our fans helping others find bottles on our Facebook page and through the Twitter hashtag #TRspottings, so be sure to watch those channels as well.
Future Supply
From January 2010 through November 2010 we sold 3,100 cases in Iowa. From Dec 2010 through December 2011 we are set to sell 20,000 cases in Iowa. Our aging stock for 2012, 2013 and 2014 is obviously already in the barrels and each year is a significant increase over the previous year.
Retail Price
As mentioned earlier, once we sell product to the ABD we do not control where it ends up or the price on the shelf.
We sincerely understand that the current Templeton Rye supply/demand situation is causing some headaches for folks trying to buy and sell our product. We apologize for this and can only say that we share your frustration and wish we could grow the company overnight – but that is simply not the case. We appreciate the work that our loyal retail partners have done in the past and continue to do on a daily basis. We also appreciate the support and enthusiasm of Templeton Rye fans in Iowa and around the world.
We at Templeton Rye would like to congratulate B.J. Hoffman for winning the 2010 Iowa Farm Bureau Cookout Contest with his The Good Stuff Barbeque Chicken Thighs recipe. B.J. used Templeton Rye as a part of his winning recipe and as the theme for his presentation, including a custom Templeton Rye table that he build himself using 144 of our story coasters. We have to say B.J., we knew you would win. You can’t go wrong with The Good Stuff!
It is with a heavy heart that I reach out to tell you that we have lost Templeton Rye Master Distiller Meryl Kerkhoff. Meryl died at Manning Hospital, surrounded by his family. I really struggle to put into words how much we all admired this great man. He will be missed dearly.
Meryl was a child of the Depression, born a mile from our current distillery in Templeton in 1929 to Alphonse and Frances (Bluml) Kerkhoff. He attended Sacred Heart School in Templeton and graduated in 1946. Meryl fought in Korea for two years and went on to a successful career as a farmer and auctioneer. He and his wife Imelda had seven children and 14 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Ohde Funeral Home in Manning, Iowa.
Meryl had a presence that was unmistakable. He was a true gentleman and a man of great stature, both in size and in character. I will always remember how his huge hands, strengthened by a lifetime of farming, would totally engulf those of anyone who would shake them. He dressed well, yet modestly, and had his signature Templeton Rye cap slightly tilted, or “a little cocky” as he would say.
Meryl had a sense of humor and his own language that greatly amused the rest of our team. A nice place was “Uptown” and when things were going well we were “Cadillacing.” He was a caring man who was always excited to see you and would ask, “So, how’ve things been going?” Meryl was a patient man and was more likely to listen than to talk. He gave Keith and I great advice over the years and was always very thorough about issues that impacted our company.
Obviously things will continue at Templeton Rye and Keith has been handling the day-to-day duties for sometime. Genetics are a powerful thing I guess, as I look at what I have written about Meryl, I could very well be describing Keith.
Please keep Meryl, Imelda, Keith and all of the Kerkhoff family in your thoughts and prayers.
At Meryl’s request, we got together a couple of weeks ago to record Meryl, Keith and I reminiscing about some of our experiences with the company. We video taped a portion of the discussion which can be seen below.
As many of you know, a law was passed earlier this year allowing us to be able to sell Templeton Rye at the distillery effective July 1, 2010. Due to our current allocation situation, we will not be selling any product at the distillery until mid-December, allowing retailers to get all of the product. We thank you for your continued patience and support!
On Saturday, June 19 we joined our friends from Ton Up Club Chicago and Delilah’s, the best whiskey bar in the world, in celebrating Mods vs. Rockers vintage motorcycle show on Lincoln Ave. The street was lined with Triumphs, Moto Guzzis, BMWs, Vespas and some custom-made choppers. Whatever your style, there was an epic display of bikes on hand.
Our friend Scott Takes of Underground Art Studios in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, thought this would be the perfect place to unveil the new Templeton Rye themed chopper. Scott was commissioned to paint a 124 Cu. Inch custom chopper built by Tim Carlson of Carlson Customs and Repair in Atkins, Iowa. Scott chose an all Templeton Rye custom paint job. The detail work on this bike is incredible. From the perfect bottle shot on the tank, to the TR on the seat, to the likeness of Templeton Rye’s most famous customer on the back fender. You can even kill the lights on the hidden license plate to make it disappear in case the Feds are chasing you while your running your stash. Check out the photos below, and be sure to get your tickets to the third annual Rock & Rye Celebration on July 31, so you can check out this awesome bike first hand.
After many requests, we have finally made some Templeton Rye bike jerseys for our fans who love cycling. We think they turned out really cool and are they here just in time for the heart of the bicycling season! They are available in men’s and women’s styles and you can purchase yours today at our online store.
Be sure to stop by and say hello to the Templeton Rye team at the Des Moines Farmers Market throughout the summer! We will be there May 8 and 29, June 5 and 26, July 3 and 31, August 7 and 28, September 18 and October 9 and 16. Click below for some video highlights from 2009.
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Rock & Rye celebration on Saturday, July 31st, 2010, brought to you by the Templeton Community Betterment Association and your friends at Templeton Rye. Below is the Rock & Rye 2010 schedule of events:
6:00 PM – Beer garden opens. All proceeds benefit the Templeton Community Betterment Association.
7:30 PM – Aged Spirits
9:00 PM – The Nadas
Tickets are available for $10 per person plus a nominal Eventbrite fee in advance (below) and will be available for $15 per person at the door if you choose not to take the charter bus.
We are also bringing three charter buses from Des Moines to Templeton for the party. A seat on the bus is $50 per person plus a nominal Eventbrite fee and includes your ticket to the show. These seats are limited so get yours today.
Buses will be departing the Jordan Creek Costco parking lot in West Des Moines at 4:00 p.m. sharp on July 31st. The buses are air-conditioned with restrooms and will allow beverages (cans or plastic only – no glass) in soft-side coolers. After the concert, the buses will depart from Templeton at 11:30 p.m. arriving back in West Des Moines just after 1:00 a.m. Cabs will be available in the Costco parking lot upon return if requested.
Reserve your seat on the Rock & Rye Charter or purchase advance tickets:
You will receive an email confirmation with your ticket purchase confirming your order. Keep this for your records. Tickets purchased online can be picked up at will call on the day of the event.
We’re excited to be a part of this very unique and impressive event started by Iowa native Brady Lowe, Founder of Taste Network again this year. Please check out COCHON 555 on April 24th at Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa. Templeton Rye Founder and President Scott Bush will be returning as a judge for the event.
WHAT: COCHON 555 is a competition featuring 5 chefs, 5 pigs and 5 winemakers. The event serves as a link to preserving heritage breed pigs by promoting breed diversity in the national community. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Iowa.
A group of chefs will each prepare a 140-pound heritage breed hog from head-to-toe for this friendly competition. Guests and professional judges will determine a winner based on presentation, utilization and overall best flavor. The winner will be crowned the “Prince or Princess of Porc.” In addition, five selected winemakers will showcase their wines.
Each 140-pound pig can be pre-cooked, braised, grilled, pressed, pickled, rubbed, smoked, seared, sauced, spiced, injected, marinated, cured in any way, or otherwise prepared. Guests of the event will experience the chef creations during a 2.5-hour stand-up reception. For this event, COCHON555 will be inviting five of chefs from the Midwest.
CHEFS:
Matt Steigerwald – Lincoln Cafe, Mount Vernon
George Formaro – Centro, Django, Des Moines
Hogan– Lidia’s KC, Kansas City
Howard Hanna – River Club, Kansas City
Hal Jasa – homage, Des Moines
VIP EXPERIENCE: Starts early with a reserve wine tasting with Elk Cove Vineyards, artisan cheese reception with Gateway Market, cured meats from La Quercia, craft brews, Templeton Rye and best of all, guests can meat and greet with the chefs, winemakers and judges of COCHON555. (This portion is $150)
MAIN FLOOR: Guests will witness a whole pig butcher demonstration while consuming over 750lbs of swine, great wines, brews and pig perfect desserts. There will be an after party at a location to be determined. This is a full day of new and old relationships, great chefs, swine, wine and we look forward to sharing it with you. (This portion is $100)
WHERE: Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309
VIP – 3:30 pm
GA – 5:00 pm
For more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.cochon555.com.
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.
Once we sell a bottle to the ABD we do not have any information as to where it will end up, so we can’t really help find a retailer that has product in stock. Retailers can only sell what they get allocated from the state, which is limited by the amount of product we send to the ABD – so we ask that you please do not get frustrated with retailers. They are doing the best they can in a tough situation and would obviously be happy to sell you a bottle if they could.
We’re excited to be a part of this very unique and impressive event started by Iowa native Brady Lowe, Founder of 
