Templeton Rye Special Reserve 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey

Templeton Rye Special Reserve 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey

Templeton Rye Special Reserve 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey is, and always has been, a railroad town. During Prohibition, local bootleggers would smuggle Templeton Rye aboard livestock trains bound for Chicago and Al Capone. As the years passed, the world around Templeton changed, but the railroad is still here and so is The Good Stuff. Featuring a smooth body and a long finish, the Templeton Rye 10 Year is a testament to the people and the strong community spirit of Templeton, Iowa. For the last decade they’ve lived at the heart of our brand, and like the trains chugging through town, that’s never going to change.

Tasting Notes: Templeton 10-Year Reserve Single Barrel  Rye

Vital stats: Mash bill undisclosed, but has to be at least 51% rye; bottled at 104 proof/52% alcohol by volume; aged in charred, new American oak; MSRP of $399.99 for a 750ml bottle.

Appearance: This is dark whiskey, befitting something that spent 10 years in new oak. Deep amber. Solid legs on the side of a glass.

Nose: Even after half an hour, this is boozy in my Glencairn. But there’s a sweetness and a gentle spiciness underneath the ethanol. I smell cinnamon, chocolate orange jelly sticks and a whiff of raspberry habanero sauce. What I don’t smell is traditional rye grass. Seems like a decade in the barrel has been a stronger influence than the rye, in this case.

Palate: The first wave of flavor is dark chocolate and caramelized figs. The barrel comes through strongly again here, as it did on the nose. The rye is present too, but it’s not overwhelming and it’s not particularly reminiscent of the herbal or grassy flavors I often associate with ryes. In the mid-palate, I found a surprising spoonful of chocolate chip mint ice cream followed by a long, warm, charred-oak finish. A splash of water really helped open up this rye, mellowing it and rounding it out nicely.