Templeton Small Batch Rye Whiskey

VITALS:
- $30
- 80 Proof
- NAS

We planned a backyard fire the other day, s'mores, hot dogs, the whole bit. And as with every other time, just the thought of cooking over the fire had me wanting a glass of rye. I don't know what it is, but for me the two frequently go hand-in-hand.

I picked up a bottle of Templeton rye knowing, just from word of mouth, that I was getting, at the very least, a solid rye whiskey. I also knew that it was coming from just across the Mississippi River in Iowa, and I'm always happy to give a local distillery a try (although this whiskey was distilled by MGP in Indiana). Templeton advertises this as a "prohibition era recipe." I'm not sure what makes it different from other rye recipes, and it may just be a marketing gimmick, but it sounds nice and adds an appealing, old-timey label.

As with any rye, Templeton provided heavy spice both in the nose and on the front end, hitting the tip of my tongue. It was a slightly different spice, however. It was like a spicy burnt orange flavor, followed by a light smokiness that I really liked.

It otherwise had the standard rye flavors and spices that I've come to expect, with notes of cloves and vanilla and a mild hint of cherry.

The body was on a bit of the watery side. I tend to like my ryes a bit more viscous, but that's merely a personal preference. Otherwise, this whiskey stands up very well against the other readily available ryes that are on the shelves.

Although nothing in particular stands out (though I really am a fan of that smokey orange flavor), this is nonetheless a rye that will not let you down. The next time I plan a backyard fire or a camping trip, I won't hesitate to grab another bottle of Templeton (then again, maybe I will, as discussed in the comments below).

Grade: B

Templeton 10 Year Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey

VITALS:

- $80

- 104 Proof

- 10 Years

- Barrel No. 2779

- Indiana

I knew it had been quite a while since I've had Templeton Rye. In fact, I had to look back at my blog archives to see when the last time was, and it was back in 2015. Without looking back at that, I couldn't have told you now whether or not I liked it (turns out I was somewhat ambivalent).  I think part of the reason I haven't gone back to the Templeton products was the issue from years ago involving their adding a flavoring to their whiskey. That kind of stuff turns me off, and, whether consciously or subconsciously, I'm sure is part of the reason I haven't given it another go.

But then there came the promise of a higher proof, 10 year, single barrel MGP rye packaged under the Templeton label, and that was enough to get me to try it again. I've certainly seen lesser-aged MGP ryes command much higher prices, so for $80, this one seemed fairly reasonable.

The nose was actually softer than what I expected. Given the proof, the age and the provenance, I expected something punch and full of spice.  This, however, leaned more towards notes of sweet wheat bread and honey. It did have a decent amount of wood notes to it, even getting a bit tannic. The one bright spot, though, was the delicious blackberry jam note that seemed to work really well with the honey and bread notes. 

Surprisingly, though, the flavor was much more in line with my expectations. Right up front I got bold notes of pine and cinnamon, with a strong vanilla undercurrent. In fact, that vanilla was more than I've ever noticed in an MGP rye before, dominating the stage right up front all the way through the finish. It wasn't a sweet vanilla, but rather more of a natural vanilla extract note.

I did get some spearmint and even a bit of black pepper spice. I think it's these flavors, mixed with the strong vanilla note, that reminded me at times of a root beer float. It just had that mix of vanilla and spices.  In fact, the spearmint note seemed to get more and more prominent as I made my way through this bottle.

The finish is where the spice in this rye really came through. I certainly got that same black pepper that I was getting up front, but I was also getting something hot. It was almost like a cayenne pepper type spice. There was some cinnamon and even a little bit of nutmeg sprinkled in. 

With that punch on the finish, though, I came to the conclusion that this was one of the spicier whiskeys I've had in a long time, and I found myself reaching for this bottle in particular to scratch that itch when I got it.  It wasn't my favorite rye of all time by any stretch, but it certainly fit a certain mood that I find myself in from time to time, and for that reason alone it was worth having on my shelf.

Grade: B

Templeton 4 Year Rye

VITALS:

- $28

- 80 Proof

- 4 Years

- Indiana

Okay, this is one of those whiskeys that is just always available at nearly any place (at least by me) that sells whiskey. I grabbed this off the shelf at Meier for the simple reason that it was a bottle I've never had before. After all, it's a four year old rye from a smaller distiller, it's sourced from MGP, and it's bottled at only 80 proof. It doesn't exactly scream, "Buy me!" 

But, I wanted something new, and, quite frankly due to requests from visitors at my house, I needed some lower proof options. So, I picked this up at a very easy to swallow price of $28.  I figure, at the very least, it will set the record for the shortest blog post title.

The nose on this one was surprisingly fruity. At different times I got all sorts of different notes from apple to pear to plum.  But, it wasn't all sweet. There was a slight resin note that added some earthiness, as well as a bit of a cinnamon spice, I'm sure coming from the rye. It was kind of like an earthy fruit salad (which sounds really weird). That said, those fruity notes did make it smell a bit young.

Not surprisingly, the first thing I noted when I took a sip was that this was thin and watered down. That tends to be the case with 80-proofers. However, after a moment the flavors tend to make their way to the front, and in this case that charge was led by a fresh pear note. There was a bit of spice to accompany it, like cinnamon and perhaps a little bit of chili powder, but this was all fresh pear.

The finish, despite the watery texture, was actually surprisingly long.  Here the cinnamon spice seemed to take much more of a foothold, leaving a spicy note at the back of my throat.  Coupled with the pear or even apple notes, I did find a cinnamon apple combination that I wish was more prevalent throughout, even if it gave of those "young" vibes.

This is one of those whiskeys where I knew what I was getting when I bought the bottle. And, both good and bad, it was exactly what I expected.

Grade: C