• December 26, 2012

Scotch, rum, vodka, tequila even. Bourbon? Sure. But rye? A drink like from the pleistocene? Well, it's back. Whiskey from rye grain may be still a sliver of the spirits biz, but sales have tripled in the past five years. It's even in farming town Templeton, Iowa, according to NPR. Templeton Rye, sold in Iowa and 11 other states, is made from a grandfather's secret recipe. The actual production, however, takes place at a distillery in Shelbyville, Ind., with the aged whiskey shipped to Templeton for bottling. There's also the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., the "oldest continually operating distillery in the United States." Now Buffalo Trace makes bourbon for 17 different labels and there are a quarter million barrels in storage. Kris Comstock of Buffalo Trace says he's getting calls from bartenders in New York City and Los Angeles — trying to find Sazerac.