New rye whiskeys

[Virus_Of_Life]

Pretty cool and a pretty nice website as well. Although I couldn't actually find the name of the company making Templeton, did you happen to see it Gary?

Only sold in Iowa right now... Well hopefully a bottle of it will make it's way to the Gazebo for the sampler this year.

[Gillman]

I did not see it Christian but because of the still shown, I have to assume (absent evidence to the contrary) Templeton rye is purpose-made, indeed craft made, and not sourced from an existing large distillery.

In the press section of the web site, the owner is identified as Scott Bush, 31 years old. The whiskey is in fact 4 years old. The report states the whiskey will be sold for now in Iowa and rolled out nationally later.

In effect (I am not sure if the label states this) this is a straight rye whiskey!

Gary

[Virus_Of_Life]

Also, I can't recall the exact meaning of the term "single malt" does that mean that this is 100% rye? Or that there is only one type of malted grain? Yeah I know I should know these things off the top of my head but I need to read up more and refresh the memory...

[Gillman]

It does say single malt in there.

Since this is a rye whiskey aged at least 4 years, it must be a straight rye, however.

Single malt probably means it is made from all-malted rye (or raw rye and malted rye, like Lot 40, however the designation "rye whiskey" ensures it is low-proof spirit, which Lot 40 may be too, but I don't know).

Gary

[kbuzbee]

to my knowledge the Tempelton rye is only the second new release of a rye whiskey since the 1930's, again in the sense of being made by a new distillery.

How about Old Potrero, Gary? It's pretty much a Rye (though very different)...

AND Happy New Year, y'all!

Ken

[Gillman]

Ken, you are right, I forgot about that. We must add Potrero to the list and indeed it was a trailblazer as the same company was in beer 40 years ago (Anchor Steam).

So we have in this new group:

Potrero straight rye
The West Virginia rye whiskey (can't recall name at the moment)
Templeton rye
forthcoming Hudson Baby Bourbon

Gary

[kbuzbee]

Potrero is funny though.... With a lot of things you can be in the mood for A but if you have B, that's okay too. Potrero is, to me, more like Tequila.... If you want something specific, it will not be a good substitute.... But if that's what you want, nothing else will do.

Hope your NYE was a good one.

Ken

[TNbourbon]

...The West Virginia rye whiskey (can't recall name at the moment)...

Isaiah Morgan.

[cowdery]

I apologize for not getting into this sooner, but Templeton Rye just popped up onto my radar screen for another reason.

The web site is very nice and evocative, but suspiciously short on production details. Gary says he saw a picture of a still, but I can't find it and I think I looked at every page.

If you actually have a distillery, wouldn't you show it?

All it says about production is: "Templeton Rye is a single malt, single barrel rye whiskey of exceptional quality, but the recipe remains a secret outside of the company, regulators and the Western Iowa town where it was born."

As we know from experience, "secret recipe" usually means "phony," as in this is nothing more than a contract bottling. There isn't a sufficiently good label pic on the site to see what the label actually says, but "single malt" isn't really a regulated term. It should mean a 100% malt whiskey and since it also says "rye," that would mean 100% malted rye, but there is no guarantee that is what it really means, or that it means anything at all.

There is one person making whiskey from a 100% malted rye mash and that is Fritz Maytag (Anchor Distilling/Old Potrero).

Seeing a full label would tell us more, so maybe someone in Iowa could provide that. You don't necessarily have to buy a bottle. (Use the "macro" setting on your digital camera.)

Shoot the front and back.

I'm very suspicious about this product. Unless I see real evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume this is just a contract-bottling of rye whiskey produced by one of the usual suspects. The whole business model seems a lot like Conecuh Ridge.

Here's what someone who has tasted it had to say, "Murky gold color and good weight. This really reminds me more of bourbon, but it has a solid dry, rye at the end. Solid Fruit with a nice lengthy finish."

I found the picture below on Flickr and for all I know it was a prototype, i.e., it may not be the TTB-approved, now-in-stores label, but what it tells us comes from what is absent. No "single malt" and no "straight." Also no age statement, but in whiskeys less than four years old, the age statement usually is in mouse type on the back label.

We need to know a lot more about Templeton Rye before we get too excited.

[Gillman]

The still is there.

Look under the "History" button, you will see a pot still with a reflux column extension. It is described as having a capacity of 300 gallons and the whiskey is said to be made by "our master distiller". This suggests to me the whiskey is not contract-distilled unless it is contract-distilled by another small company which owns that still. That is possible I guess but even so it would still be a craft product.

I would think, given that the word straight is not part of the brand name (as far as I know), it is aged under 2 years.

It has a nice colour and I find the taste note reported by Chuck encouraging.

Gary