Templeton Rye 6 Years is Bullshit. Well, the actual age of the whiskey probably isn’t, but the press release for the Templeton Rye 6 Years definitely is. It’s as if asshats at Templeton didn’t learn anything from their $2,500,000 lawsuit because they’re once again telling the same old made-up story.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while you know this stuff pisses me off. So much so that when Keith Kerkhoff release release “message to his customers” I made a video ripping his video apart. Seeing how the same purposely misleading themes are present in the Templeton Rye 6 Years I decided to do it again.
Warning: Foul language is, obviously, used because I’m pissed off.
Templeton Rye 6 Years Press Release – with commentary
Ultra Premium Rye Whiskey Category Leader Debuts Bolder, More Complex and Higher in Proof, 6 Year Expression
TEMPLETON, IA, JUNE 7 –– Templeton Rye Whiskey will release Templeton Rye 6 Year Old, a limited edition aged rye, this month. The new offering is the first from the leading ultra-premium rye whiskey maker in 10 years.
Wow… we didn’t get very far before having to stop did we? “…the leading ultra-premium rye whiskey maker…” No, no they are not. Templeton doesn’t make jack shit. Templeton just bottles some MGP rye they’ve added some artificial flavoring and water to. That’s it. Seems like these asshats couldn’t tell the truth if their lives depended on it.
Based on a family recipe that dates from the era of Prohibition, Templeton Rye was one of the first contemporary rye whiskeys, introduced legally in 2006. “When we saw the tremendous growth of the category and our brand, we decided to set aside key barrels for longer aging back in 2010,” says Keith Kerkhoff, Co-founder of Templeton Rye. “We’re delighted with this first offering, especially in a category where aged expressions are rare.”
NO… NO IT’S NOT! Templeton Rye 6 Years is MGP rye like the rest of their stuff. The chief bullshit officer Keith Kerkhoff admitted as much when he said “we decided to set aside key barrels for longer aging”. Them saying their whiskey was “Based on a family recipe that dates from the era of Prohibition” was the entire reason they got sued and had to remove the Prohibition labeling from their bottles.
Pre-lawsuit Templeton on the left, post-lawsuit Templeton on the right. Notice the removal of “Prohibition Era Recipe”. It was removed because it wasn’t a prohibition recipe and they got sued for saying it was.
Templeton Rye is MGP rye and MGP rye is not a prohibition recipe. It’s made from 95% rye, 5% barley and it’s the exact same rye whiskey that’s in Bulleit Rye, George Dickel Rye, High West Double Rye and High West Rendezvous Rye and all of those companies admit it. How can it be a family recipe if it’s A) the same stuff all of these companies use and B) a modern MGP creation? Is your last name Metze? Stop lying you unrepentant asshat.
Holy mother of litigation I hope this release of Templeton Rye 6 Years manages to trigger another law suite.
Templeton 6 Year Old is aged in new American oak barrels. With a higher proof, 45.75% ABV, and longer time in the barrel, the new expression displays more complex rye notes that will entice and intrigue whiskey aficionados and novice drinkers alike.
This is a Rye that delivers on every level. Floral aromas and hints of dry spice, butterscotch, vanilla, cherry and green apple preview a balanced taste nuanced with vibrant flavor cues of fruit with hints of toasted oak. The body is bold oak with burnt sugar sweetness; the finish long and strong with lingering spiciness. “I am thrilled and excited about this latest expression and am confident that our loyal fans and all whiskey enthusiasts will enjoy the style and complexity they’ll experience with our 6 Year Old, says Kerkhoff. “We believe mixologists will be particularly interested in the 6 year because they recommend higher proof, aged whiskies for craft cocktails,” he added.
Templeton Rye 6 Years might deliver on all of that. Sure, it’s completely possible, but true whiskey enthusiasts know that the Templeton Rye story is horse shit and hopefully more and more people do as well the more they learn about the lawsuit and the massive amount of deceit behind this brand.
Also, how much of those flavor and aromas come from the whiskey and how many were engineered by Clarenden Flavors? There’s no way to know when you buy a flavored whiskey. Those tasting notes are akin to someone saying Jim Beam Apple tastes and smells like apple. They could made the Templeton Rye 6 Years taste and smell however they want with the right additives.
Templeton Rye has been a huge part of our community and we thank them for their support. We look forward to the continued success of the brand,” adds Ken Behrens, Mayor of Templeton, Iowa.
I look forward to the demise of Templeton Rye 6 Years, Templeton Rye and anything to do with this brand. The fact that they can’t even issue a press release with integrity after being sued for said lack of integrity is sad and pathetic.
Rye Whiskey is one of the fastest growing North American Whiskey segments in both volume and sales revenue and Templeton Rye is the category leader in the ultra-premium rye segment.* “The rye whiskey category is continuing to grow. We enjoy a distinct advantage because Templeton was one of the first rye whiskeys introduced to the market,” said Kerkhoff. “As we explore more complex, aged expressions, we know the brand will continue to please our loyal consumers and attract new drinkers to the Templeton fold.”
I hope they don’t get new customers, they don’t need new people to spin stories to and confuse. And seriously, what’s the point of having stocks of old rye if you’re doing to dump a bunch of flavoring into it? Old rye is awesome, but then you go an dump a bunch of modern artificial crap into it while telling people it’s a prohibition recipe… I… I just can’t…
The suggested retail price for Templeton Rye 6 Year Old is $49.99.
About Templeton Rye
Templeton Rye is based on the prohibition era Kerkhoff recipe, born in Templeton, Iowa during prohibition when many enterprising residents of a small town in Iowa chose to become outlaws, producing a high-caliber and much sought after whiskey known as Templeton Rye or “The Good Stuff” to those in the know. Rumor has it Templeton Rye became Al Capone’s whiskey of choice.
Templeton Rye was introduced nationally in 2006 using a recipe that best matched the recipe of Alphonse Kerkhoff, Keith Kerkhoff’s grandfather. Templeton Rye uses a mash made up of 95% rye from MGP (formerly Lawrenceburg Distillers of Indiana) as its foundation. The distilled rye whiskey is brought to Templeton, Iowa where it is combined with local purified water and a proprietary formula. The whiskey is then bottled in the production facility in Templeton, Iowa.
Learn more about Templeton Rye Whiskey by visiting templetonrye.com and become a member of the Bootleggers Society to stay in the know on all things Templeton Rye.
And there it is… buried at the bottom of the Templeton Rye 6 Years press release the truth. Hidden away after a series of misleading statements and bullshit here’s the truth they want to hide. Crafting a press release like this and hiding the info you’re now legally obliged to disclose at the very bottom is disgusting. It shows a complete and utter lack of integrity and is exactly why this brand should be boycotted. It took a $2.5M lawsuit for the truth to come out and yet they still do their best to wash over it and hide it at the bottom. Though even here they try to gussy it up.
The line about “using a recipe that best matched the recipe of Alphonse Kerkhoff” is another gigantic pile of bullshit. In this press statement by the Chief Bullshit officer himself, Keith Kerkhoff, he states that his Grandpa’s recipe couldn’t be called rye whiskey. This means he either used something other than grains or didn’t use a minimum of 51% rye which means a modern MGP 95% rye 5% barley mashbill couldn’t be anywhere near his grandpa’s.
The real reason they used MGP 95/5 rye whiskey for Templeton Rye, and now Templeton Rye 6 Years, is because it’s what was, and still is, available in mass quantities. Not because it was close to his grandpa’s rye that couldn’t be classified as rye, but because it was what was for sale on the market. If a different rye had been available on the market in mass quantities he would have been buying that and singing the same story.
Even when they have to admit the truth they can’t do that and have to dress it up with bullshit. This complete lack of integrity is why I’ll never buy a single damn thing the Kerkhoff family is ever involved in and I hope you don’t either.
