Whiskey Of The Month #4: Templeton Rye

Ahhhhhhh... the 'Good Stuff.' Templeton Rye is now happily far more prevalent on the grocery and liquor store shelves of the Midwest and it tastes amazing. Happily, I've been to Templeton and taken a tour of the distillery there. They don't produce much there anymore- the vast majority is produced by a distillery in Indiana and shipped to Iowa by tanker truck. (That would be a delicious and tragic tanker accidents...)

This is our first rye- so first, some definitions. Rye whiskey produced in the United States by law is made of a mash of at least 51% rye- the other ingredients are usually corn and/or barley. Canadian whiskey has a different definition- but we'll save our thoughts on the Canadian whiskey until we sample some good stuff north of the border. (I'm thinking Pendleton, but they're getting more and more maple infusions that are calling my name. Maybe Pendleton first though.)

(I believe there's also a way you can purchase a Templeton Rye barrel. Someday, when I have a living room big enough to support one and perhaps a humorous leg lamp like the one in 'A Christmas Story' I'm going to get one.)

Anyway to business...

Color: Light amber/golden

Body: There's a sweetness to rye that I enjoy greatly and a smoothness to it that really works. As for the nose of it that throws me a little bit. A lot of times, a good whiff of whiskey can singe your nose hairs clean off- but this one endears itself to me by keeping my nose hairs intact and bringing a nice scent of honey to the party. There's a smoothness to it that reminds me of vanilla and maybe cinnamon.

Palate: It's neither light not heavy- I've tasted whiskeys that are both watery and almost syrupy- this one seems to be a happy medium between the two.

Finish: Very, very, very nice. I can see why it's called 'The Good Stuff.' There's warmth but not a burn. The warmth is gradual and very pleasant.

Overall: Sour Mash Manifesto rates this as an 8.4 which is Very Good/Excellent. I'd drop the good and just go with excellent. There's a reason that Al Capone liked this stuff and it's because it's drinkable, tastes good going down and doesn't leave a good old whiskey burn behind. Interestingly enough, they tasted caramelized bananas in their tasting--- I either need to work on my nose or have some caramelized bananas because I didn't get that at all.