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Templeton is famous for its rye whiskey, originally sourced from MGP in Indiana since its inception in 2006. However, in 2018, Templeton launched its own distillery in the identically named Iowa town. The distillery has been producing whiskey since then, including varieties beyond just rye whiskey. Recently, the distillery unveiled Templeton Fortitude, which marks their first bourbon and the first whiskey that is entirely produced and aged in Iowa.

The narrative of Templeton has for years revolved around the Prohibition era when bootleggers established their businesses in Iowa. The company even claimed that their original Templeton rye whiskey was a favorite of Al Capone. In 2015, several class-action lawsuits were directed at Templeton, accusing the company of misleading its customers about the actual production location of the whiskey (Iowa not Indiana) and falsely labeling it as ‘small batch’ whiskey. After settling the lawsuits and changing labels, this event became part of the legal history of whiskey.

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Until now, the Templeton portfolio has consisted of rye whiskeys aged for four, six, and 10 years, along with a few cask finishes. None of the rye that is being distilled in-house has been dropped yet, which makes this bourbon release even more notable for the distillery. In keeping with the rye whiskey theme, Fortitude is a very high-rye bourbon: The mashbill is 55 percent corn, 40 percent rye, and 5 percent malted barley. While the rye is imported, the corn is sourced from local farmers located within 15 miles of the distillery, and the whiskey is mashed, fermented, distilled, and matured onsite.

We got an early taste of Templeton Fortitude Bourbon, and it’s a good first release. The whiskey was bottled at 92 proof and is non-chill filtered, which allows some extra flavor to shine through on the palate. There is no age statement, but it’s labeled as straight bourbon so it must be at least 4 years old (the flavor profile indicates a bourbon in the 4-to-5-year-old range). The mouthfeel is a bit thin and overall the palate is on the lighter side, but this is a tasty bourbon with a nice sweetness to it that’s tempered with a good amount of spice from the high rye content. There are notes of honey, brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, black pepper, Meyer lemon, and cinnamon on the palate, making this a suitable sipping bourbon that would also work very well in cocktails.

Templeton Fortitude Bourbon is just starting to be distributed nationally, so it could be a bit challenging to locate online right now. However, you might want to keep an eye on sites like, as it presently sells all of the rye whiskeys and it should start selling this one soon.

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