Rye whiskey used to be the most popular brown spirit in the United States before Prohibition began in 1919. Rye whiskey is one of three straight American whiskey styles, the other two being Tennessee and Bourbon. With straight whiskey, 51% of the spirit must be made of grain, the spirit must not exceed 160-proof, must [...]

Ask Brian Duax about Iowa’s best-known, least-available whiskey, and one of the first phrases to spout from his lips is “a pain in the ass.” Duax, co-owner of Central City Liquors in Des Moines, said he gets an average of 30 to 35 phone calls a day inquiring about Templeton Rye, a three-year-old whiskey brand [...]