Whiskey Goddess
  • Whiskey Notes
  • About the Goddess
  • Whiskey Cocktails
  • Cooking With Whiskey
  • Whiskey Quotes

Whiskey Reading: Gentlemen Bootleggers

8/30/2014

 
Picture
Summer reading is a relative term. Some want to spend an afternoon in the sun with a romance novel. Others prefer diving into the history of Iowa bootlegging.

For those who join me in the second category, I just got to spend 235 pages with the original distillers of Templeton rye in the book Gentlemen Bootleggers, by Bryce T. Bauer. This is old-school Prohibition Templeton rye and not the alcohol currently made under that name. Despite impressive marketing (and a nice flavor), the current Templeton Rye is distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

But there was an original Templeton rye straight out of Templeton, Iowa. And talk about community spirit. Who wouldn’t want to live in town where the church makes liquor in the basement and most sheds probably contain a still?


Read More

Talking Whiskey with Author Bryce T. Bauer

8/30/2014

 
Picture
Bryce T. Bauer is the author Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots. After I reviewed his book, I contacted him with some questions about Prohibition, whiskey in Iowa, and what he is currently drinking.

Why this story: 


"Well, being from the area, I always heard stories of Templeton rye growing up. I knew people had a lot of great anecdotes of making it, and selling it, and drinking it. Those were all very appealing. But it wasn’t until we started collecting those stories, and people from the community began contributing all the information that they had, that we realized just how rich it was."

On the importance of recording the Templeton rye history:

“It’s one of the most unique stories to come out of the Prohibition-era — most small towns in the Midwest were far more likely to be supporters of Prohibition than major violators of it.

There’s also the German-American history, which, as someone whose heritage is German, I knew nothing about starting out but clearly was so important in my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ experiences. 

It’s also a story of rural America, specifically of the rural Middle West, which is in so many ways a cradle of American civilization and yet it is grossly neglected, and when it does enter into popular culture, it is usually as hyperbolic parody.” 


Read More

KY Bourbon Tradition Meets Texas in Garrison Brothers

8/17/2014

 
Picture
I once took a Facebook quiz that told me the state I should live in is Texas. Which is odd because the only state I’ve ever declared out loud I won’t live in is Texas. So I think what the quiz actually meant was I should go to Texas and spend some time sipping Garrison Brothers whiskey at its tasting room on a 68-acre ranch outside of Austin. 

I got a preview of such a visit last Saturday when Dan Garrison came to one of my favorite local spots, Brooklyn Wine Exchange. He had the cowboy hat to match the lonestar bottles, and he graced us with some bourbon and talk.


Read More
    Tweets by @WhiskeyGoddess

    Archives

    November 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Whiskey Notes
  • About the Goddess
  • Whiskey Cocktails
  • Cooking With Whiskey
  • Whiskey Quotes