templeton rye

This tour is a must if you are in the area!! The tour is very informative and personal. The persons giving the tour and a taste of Templeton Rye after the tour are great people. After the tour just sitting around connecting with the staff is lots of fun!!

Another couple joined us on a drive cruise to Templeton to check out Al Capone's favorite prohibition rye whisky. Templeton, IA is quite small, and it's hard to miss the barrel tree in the front! Cheryl Kerkhoff greeted us when we entered the door...beautiful room with lots of wood and very welcoming, like going into someone's home. The bar, especially the back bar, is gorgeous. Our tour began with Cheryl explaining about the prohibition recipe that was Capone's favorite for his rye whiskey. Even his great-niece Deirdre Marie Capone endorses Templeton! Most interesting! As we proceeded with the tour we learned how the whiskey came back into being: the recipe, how the distillers fooled the "revenooers" (the story about the white horse is a hoot!) and the myriad government regulations for duplicating the liquor. The bottling process is done by hand by workers originally recruited via the church bulletins(no town newspaper), some of whom are still at work! The plastic around the cap/cork is still shrink-wrapped by hand and the seal band is then applied! The tour ended with a sampling of the whiskey at the beautiful bar. Templeton Rye is a must-see/do.

We stopped there on a trip on the Lincoln Highway. I rode past their facility many years ago while riding my bike on Ragbrai and regret not going inside. Luckily I was able to email Cheryl K. who oversees the visitor center. If you are within an hour or two of this site, please stop, they have a very unique story which is well worth exploring. While we were there folks from TX and FL were there, so I am suprised that I am the first to review.