Review #18: Templeton rye

Here's another interesting gift that I picked up for myself from Hawaii - I really am so Good! This was a really good whiskey and I and everyone I shared it with really enjoyed it too.

This is a whiskey which has courted controversy recently having been the subject of a class action lawsuit in the U.S. over claims made on it's label which you can see in my photos. The issues related to claims on the label about where the whiskey was produced, it claiming to be "small batch" and the "prohibition era recipe". The class action lawsuit was successful and the guys who produce the whiskey or who bottle this whiskey have since had to change their label to state that it is produced in Indiana by a different company and have had to remove small batch and prohibition era recipe from their label.

The legend on the label would have you believe that this was Al Capone's favorite whiskey and that it was referred to by him or others as the good stuff! I wasn't around back then so I don't know if that's true or not and how closely this product actually reflects whiskey produced in Iowa during prohibition is anyone's guess? I have heard that the guys who make the whiskey may have tried to produce their own whiskey instead of buying it in from the people in Indiana but apparently the stuff from Indiana was much better than anything they were able to make themselves so they kept buying it in. The legend behind this whiskey also states that originally the "good stuff" was made by farmers in Iowa as a source of income and that I would say is probably the truth. Whiskey is an agricultural product produced traditionally by farmers to make use of excess grain. It's a very useful product alcohol, it can and has been used for preserving, many medicinal purposes, fuel and for pleasure. Some people call it liquid sunshine!

Ultimately the producer had to pay damages to the princely sum of 6$ to anyone who could prove that they bought a bottle for up to 6 bottles.. doesn't sound like much, they should add it to the bootlegging stories! 

Price: pretty good for what I paid which was just over $30US, however a little search online in Australia indicates that when this whiskey was available it would have set me back $199AU - FFFFFFar out! that's expensive! quite a difference! It's no longer available anyway!!! For what I payed: 6/6

Availability: pretty bad - have not seen this for sale anywhere else, no sign of this for sale online either and I've never seen it in a pub: 1/6

Marketing: Well Stretching the truth to the point where you loose a class action lawsuit and have to refund customers and change your label - I think these guys took the Michael with their bullshit stories and overlooked facts. The website focuses on the history of the area and stories and legends pfff: 0/6

Packaging/label: LEGEND!!! LIES!  too much BS not enough fact. No age statement, no mention of what additives are added, Prohibition era whiskey had all sorts of nasty crap thrown in by some accounts. Lovely looking bottle and label though: 3/6

Appearance: golden with a tinge of amber and nice legs on the glass: 6/6

Nose: fruity and something green - fresh cut grass with grapes, lychees and musk sweets and maybe some sherbet - really nice. Something a little earthy in the background. Limes and avocados coming in too: 18/20

Taste on entry: sweet and spicy - peppery and ginger and a little citrus - lemon: 15/20

Mouth feel/Body: quite good actually - cant fault it: 10/10

Finish: long, peppery and spicy ginger and some citrus in the finish too nice stuff: 17/20

Total score: 76/100

So this whiskey may have additives and flavorings but it was a really good whiskey and I really enjoyed drinking it, just too much B.S.