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Searching for an obscure Iowa Whiskey-Could it be Templeton Rye?


sus

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The holidays are coming and I have been trying to track down an Iowa Whiskey my SO tried once in Chicago and really liked. He said you could only get it in Iowa and Chicago. I did some research and found Templeton Rye but I am trying to rule out other possibilities. Any other suggestions as to good similar whiskeys (if it is indeed Templeton's Rye) would be greatly appreciated....though I am inclined to gift him the one he tried and loved.

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I had Templeton rye once--if I recall they bill it as a "prohibition" rye because they claim to use a prohibition era recipe that has connections with Al Capone. Anyway, I found it to be pretty light, with a spicy rye character that was there but not as prominent as I expected. I remember thinking that the closest thing I could think of was Rittenhouse, which is not a great gift whiskey. Depending on how much you want to spend, I'd go with Sazarac or better yet Sazarac 18. Not the absolute perfect analogs perhaps, but anybody who likes rye will probably really like Saz 18.

nunc est bibendum...

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Thanks! I was thinking about Saz18 and some others but wanted to find out if this obscure one is a Templeton and whether one should mess with a man's choice of libation? :-) Thanks!

Sus

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I would be amazed if the Iowa Whiskey in question wasn't Templeton Rye. It is, as far as I know, the only commercially available brown liquor produced in Iowa, and its first big market release was in Chicago...so, that pretty much answers that. When it was first released I drank through a bottle in about two weeks making sazeracs. In other words, it's extremely approachable, in fact, I'd say too approachable. It's only 80 proof, and at $35 a bottle, I think there are better options. But, if it's a gift, give the man what you know he likes.

True rye and true bourbon wake delight like any great wine...dignify man as possessing a palate that responds to them and ennoble his soul as shimmering with the response.

DeVoto, The Hour

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