A Scotch with royal blood lines and a rye descended from Prohibition street toughs have joined the whiskey lineup in Chicago.
Landing on store shelves are Johnnie Walker Blue Label King George V Edition and Templeton Rye. The Guy Page sampled both, and they were ahhhh so good.
We get nervous around whiskeys that cost $600 a fifth, so for the Walker, we called out our power palate, Tribune wine critic Bill Daley, and pushed a glass toward him. His verdict: “Very smooth but personable. Definite notes of smoke and salt; not harsh at all. Lovely aroma — smoke, peat, dried fruits.” He liked it.
The Scotch comes in a fancy casket with an elegant crystal decanter to fill with cheaper stuff later. Walker “ambassador” Jonathan Driver explained that Walker sees George Blue as big on the gift market. A wealthy guy buying for himself might just stop at the regular (not to say pedestrian) Walker Blue at $200 a fifth. But if his family really loves him, they’ve got to get him the special-edition George. The whiskeys used in the blend were produced only in distilleries that operated during George’s reign, including one that closed in 1984. Only 7,300 bottles are available in this country for 2007.
Then there’s Iowa’s Templeton Rye, a single-malt, single-barrel whiskey. Honestly, when we first heard about this throwback to Prohibition booze touted as Al Capone’s favorite, we prepared for a marketing gimmick. But this rye is gooood and a great deal at suggested retail of $32 a fifth.
We ran it past seven tasters, and it was enthusiastic tongues up across the board.
The “Templeton” refers to Templeton, Iowa, a town where Prohibition-era farmers decided that profit made a lot more sense than federal law, so they supplied some of the best illegal booze available in the speakeasies of Chicago during Prohibition. Iowan Scott Bush, drawing on a Prohibition recipe for the rye, restored the name to 21st Century glory. Previously available only in Iowa, the whiskey busted out of that state in August. We’re glad.
George V can be found at Binny’s Chicago locations, Foremost Liquors in Glendale Heights and Schaumburg, Sam’s Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Downers Grove and Highland Park, Kenwood Liquors on the South Side and in Oak Lawn, among others. Templeton is more broadly available.