Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
BRAND IN HISTORY From Prohibition to the TEMPLETON RYE— WHERE IT'S ALWAYS 1930 by Richard Carleton Hacker Present I t's been said that nothing good ever came out of Prohibition, but Templeton Rye is a notable exception. Although it had its beginnings during the Great Depression, Templeton Rye quickly gained a reputation for smoothness and taste that set it apart from what was euphemistically referred to as "cough medicine" back then. The birthplace of Templeton Rye was in its namesake town, Templeton, Iowa, with a current population of 362, just 140 more than Templeton had when this prairie community was founded along the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1882. Since then, not much has changed. But one of the milestones in Templeton's history occurred when two local farmers named Alphonse Kerkhoff and Frank Schroeder, feeling the economic pinch of the Great Depression combined with the ravages of Prohibition, were inspired to create a superlative rye whiskey, which in itself was unique in a land known for its corn. april 2013 / the tasting panel / 43