Our Chilled 100 Bartenders embrace the art of crafting cocktails by drawing inspiration from local surroundings, infusing regional flavors, and honoring hometown traditions.
With Templeton Whiskey as their base, our Chilled 100 Bartenders create cocktails that tell a story that reflects the essence of a home turf.
The brutal winters of the Midwest make for a perfect opportunity to spend days baking goodies in a warm kitchen. This is where all my flavor inspiration comes from for my Templeton Fortitude cocktail.
The spice components of Templeton Fortitude had me thinking of baked goods; cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, but my strongest flavor affinity had to be banana bread. The Good Neighbors Policy is my attempt at taking the main components of banana bread while bridging the gap between a Whiskey Sour and a Daiquiri while retaining the “crushability” of the latter. Simple ingredients combine to make a complex sipper with classic cocktail appeal.
Singani and a Caribbean Rhum-based banana liqueur work to brighten up some of the baking spice components and add some overall funk to the cocktail while the Templeton Fortitude does all the heavy lifting, maintaining the body of the cocktail.
The Good Neighbors Policy is a multi-seasonal cocktail, containing components appropriate for warm and cold weather, so next time a neighbor shows up with a loaf of banana bread, you can maintain your own Good Neighbors Policy and invite them over for a couple of these delicious cocktails.
Good Neighbor Policy
by Cesar Gustavo Perez II – @redwolf56
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Templeton Fortitude Bourbon
- ½ oz. Clement Banana Canne French Caribbean Liqueur
- ½ oz. Singani 63
- ¾ oz. Cinnamon Demerara Syrup (1:1)*
- 1 oz. Banana Water**
- ¾ oz. Lime Juice
- Double Rocks glass garnished with banana leaf and lime wedge
Preparation
- Add all ingredients to a mixing tin.
- Add ice and shake vigorously, double strain over fresh ice and garnish with banana leaf and lime wedge.
*Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
Ingredients
- 500ml water
- 25g of cinnamon bark
- 500g of demerara sugar
Preparation
- To a saucepan, add 500ml water and 25g of cinnamon bark and bring to a simmer, slowly introduce 500g of demerara sugar and gently stir until all sugar is dissolved.
- Keep on the heat for 10 minutes and turn off the heat, allowing the solution to cool fully before straining off the solids and bottling/refrigerating for future use.
- (use within 2 weeks)
**Banana Water
Preparation
- Blend 1 Banana with 750ml of water and fine strain, bottle and refrigerate the liquid for future use.
- (use within 2 days)
When making cocktails, I like to draw inspiration to things that play homage to the area they’re from or how it’s made. In my findings about Templeton Rye, I learned it is made in Templeton, Iowa. Now, all I had known previously of Iowa was corn, lots of corn. I recently found out two new things it is known for; the Iowa State Fair, and that the French were the first Europeans to settle there. With this new information, I was inspired to make a Sazerac with one of my all-time favorite fair foods: caramel corn.
Fair Play
by Rose Gonzalez – @Stomp_the_pommard
Ingredients
- Spritz: Salted Absinthe
- 2 oz. Templeton Rye Whiskey
- ½ oz. Spiced Caramel Syrup
- 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- Topped with Popcorn Foam
- Caramel Popcorn (for garnish)
Preparation
- Spritz empty rocks glass with salted absinthe.
- 1 oz. hot water to 1 tsp sea salt, stir until salt is dissolved.
- Add 1 oz. absinthe and put in an atomizer bottle, shake to incorporate.
- To a mixing glass, add 2 oz. Templeton Rye, 1 oz spiced caramel syrup.
- Heat 1/2 cup of water to 1/4 cup brown sugar until dissolved.
- Add 1 tbsp butter, ½ tsp cinnamon, 3 cloves, and a pinch of sea salt.
- Stir to incorporate, then refrigerate until syrupy, strain out any solids, and three dashes Peychaud’s Bitters.
- Fill mixing glass with ice and then stir until the ice has melted halfway down the mixing glass.
- Pour over a spherical cube and top with Popcorn Foam (Warm ½ cup whole milk, add ¼ cup freshly popped popcorn and let infuse for 15 minutes.
- After infusion strain out solids, you should have ½ cup of milk still.
- Add to heated pot to warm up with 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp powdered sugar, ½ tsp vanilla and ½ cup heavy whipping cream, warm until butter is melted.
- Do not boil.
- Allow it to cool but don’t let the butter solidify.
- Double charge ISI shake and refrigerate for 30 min before serving).
The Husker Old Fashioned is a spin on the classic Old Fashioned, celebrating the Midwest Nebraska influence by using corn syrup as a sweetener. The Templeton Rye provides a robust, spicy backbone, while the corn syrup adds a unique, subtly sweet flavor that evokes the state’s agricultural heritage.
The aromatic bitters provide the signature aromatic and herbal notes, rounding out the cocktail. The garnish is a nod to Nebraska’s love of popcorn, a beloved snack across the Midwest.
This cocktail is both sophisticated and approachable, much like the Nebraskans themselves. It’s a delicious way to enjoy Templeton Rye Whiskey while paying homage to the state’s corn-growing tradition and the hardworking, resilient spirit of the Midwest.
Whether you’re relaxing on the porch after a long day in the fields or gathering with friends for a cozy evening, the Husker Old Fashioned is sure to be a hit and a fitting representation of Nebraska’s unique culture.
Husker Old Fashioned
by Alex Frisbey – @friz_2_da_
Ingredients
- 2 oz.Templeton Rye Whiskey
- ¾ oz. Corn Syrup
- 4 dashes Aromatic Bitters
- 1 tsp Water
- Popcorn
- Orange Peel boat filled with Popcorn (for garnish)
Preparation
- In a mixing glass, combine the Templeton Rye Whiskey, corn syrup, Aromatic bitters, a handful of crushed popcorn, water.
- Add a large ice cube and stir the mixture for about 30 seconds until well-chilled.
- Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass filled with a large ice cube.
- Garnish with an orange boat filled with popcorn.
One of my favorite flavor combinations has always been the rich decadence of whiskey with the smooth and bitter tones of coffee. I was excited by the smooth edge of the port in the Midnight Rye and was excited to highlight it through this Espresso Martini rendition.
Disco Cowboy
by Alyssa Atwell – @candyapplecouture
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz. Templeton Midnight Rye
- ¾ oz. Sorel
- ¾ oz. Licor 43
- ¼ oz. Demerara Syrup*
- 2 oz. Espresso
- 3 Coffee Beans (for garnish)
Preparation
- Cocktail is built by adding all the ingredients into a shaker tin and shaken and double strained in a coupe.
*Demerara Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 parts sugar
- 1 part water
Preparation
- Bring ingredients to a boil and stir until smooth.
In the Midwest, we get through winter with a combination of stubbornness, tropical escapism, and humor. This cocktail brings together a very Midwest ingredient—Templeton Midnight Rye—with a kiss of Caribbean flavors in the falernum, banane, cacao, and hibiscus. It takes me to daydreams of a warm, sunny beach when the Midwest reality is it’s a balmy 17° outside.
Balmy 17°
by Darian Everding – @DrinkingWithDarian
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Templeton Midnight Rye
- ½ oz. Giffard Banane du Brésil
- ¼ oz. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur
- 4 dashes Angostura Cacao Bitters
- Wild Hibiscus Flower (in syrup) (for garnish)
Preparation
- Combine all ingredients in mixing glass, stir for 30 seconds, strain over a large cube in a lowball glass.
- Garnish with a candied hibiscus flower.
