10 Minutes with Keith Kerkhoff, Co-Founder of Templeton Rye Whiskey
Jan. 28, 2016
It’s official: January 17 will hereby be referred to as Bootleggers Day, a holiday recognized on the national calendar registry as the birthday of Templeton Rye Whiskey, bootlegger Al Capone and the son of Alphonse Kerkhoff, one of Templeton, Iowa residents responsible for the making of “the good stuff” in 1920.
We sat down with Keith Kerkoff, a third generation Templeton Whiskey-maker (and grandson of Alphonse), to discuss Templeton Rye’s storied past, the inception of a national holiday, and what it took to make a legacy rye recipe into an emerging brand in the high-stakes, contemporary whiskey market.
Breakthru Beverage: Welcome to Chicago! What brings you to our fair city?
Keith Kerkhoff: Thank you. We’re here for the inaugural celebration of Bootleggers Day
Breakthru: How did Bootleggers Day come to be?
Keith: A lot of people celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition but we were at a board meeting and someone brought up, “Why don’t we celebrate the birth of Templeton Rye?”
Breathru: Tell us the story of the birthday
Keith: Templeton Rye began on January 17, 1920 after Prohibition had been enacted. The liquid was made by a community of bootleggers in Templeton, Iowa, one of which was my grandfather.
From the very beginning, the liquid had rye grain in it in the original form and what happened is, [the whiskey-makers] got a high caliber spirit because they put it in barrels; anybody who knows anything about distillation knows that you get a ton of your flavor from the barrel and it takes away the harshness. Meanwhile, a lot of whiskey during prohibition was just white dog moonshine right off the still. The Templeton townspeople knew that if they aged it, they’d get more interested buyers and one of those buyers was supposedly Al Capone. He called it “The Good Stuff” from Iowa.
Breakthru: THE Al Capone?
Keith: Yes. A lot of people say, “Was Al Capone ever in Templeton?” You know, there’s no pictures of that. Do you have pictures of your grandpa making contraband whiskey? The answer is no, of course.
Breakthru: Tell us more about your grandfather’s role in the making of the original recipe and how we arrived at this moment in the Templeton Rye story.
Keith: My grandfather made Templeton during Prohibition as part of the community; but he wasn’t the only one, it took the whole community to make a spirit of high caliber. My grandfather made it and then my father made it and then I actually learned from both of them. I hope the statute of limitations has worn off by now [chuckles].
Breakthru: Speaking of, when did Templeton Rye make the transition from an underground product to a lawful, recognized brand?
Keith: In 2004, Scott Bush (Templeton Rye President and Co-Founder) approached my family about turning this into a legal product. Technically, we’re a 120 year old product but legally, we’re celebrating our tenth year this September 25.
Breakthru: What was surprising about hitting the market for the first time?
Keith: When we started, we had 400 cases. We took 100 cases down to the state warehouse in Iowa and I tell you, that whiskey was gone in two days simply because the people of Iowa recognized the Templeton name and it just compounded. Everyone wanted to get a bottle. I call it the Beanie Baby or the Tickle Me Elmo syndrome, because people would line-up when they knew the delivery trucks would get there and that just created more excitement. We knew that you can’t be running short when you’re working with restaurants and bars. Now, we have one of the largest reserves of rye whiskey in the country.
Breakthru: You’ve got the bartending community on your side. Can you talk about how bartenders and mixologists are influencing Templeton’s success?
Keith: Rye whiskey was always thought of as a rough, good ol’ cowboy whiskey. Well now, a whole new fan base has found rye through this mixology craze, including women. They have really discovered it that way, I think. These mixologists are real professional bartenders and they love working with rye because there’s a lot of stuff you can do with it. It mixes real well with citrus for one.
Breakthru: Ten years ago, it would be difficult to find a classic Old Fashioned on a cocktail menu.
Keith: Right, and a bonafide Old Fashioned is traditionally made with a rye whiskey.
Breakthru: Tell us about the Bootleggers Society and how consumers and the industry community alike can get involved.
Keith: Anyone can join online and if we go to a city nearby and you’re a member, you’ll hear about a Templeton Rye community event we’re hosting. We’ve had a very good response, about 10,000 sign-ups across the country so far. When you join the Bootleggers Society, you get a packet from Templeton, Iowa with a personalized membership ID and a document signed by the mayor. As the company grows, we hope that community grows.
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For more information about Templeton Rye Whiskey’s heritage, Bootleggers Day and the Bootleggers Society, visit Templeton Rye online.