Templeton Rye Settles Deceptive Whiskey Suit
By Richard Thomas
Whiskey bottler Templeton Rye has agreed to settle three lawsuits that alleged the company had engaged in misleading practices that hurt the public, according to The Associated Press.
The Iowa-based Templeton Rye was cited for years in American whiskey and blogging circles as the main example of a brand engaging in misleading marketing and labeling practices. At the heart of the matter were company claims of making a rye whiskey based on a Prohibition-era bootlegger recipe, when in reality they were bottling a stock whiskey made by MGP, the industrial distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This stock whiskey was modified with additives to make it taste more like the authentic Templeton moonshine.
Templeton was the first company targeted in a wave of lawsuits alleging deceptive practices, one that included Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam and Angel’s Envy. Templeton’s case moved to mediation in January.
Documents filed in Polk County, Iowa’s District Court reveal the agreement requires Templeton Rye to change its labeling, website and marketing materials (a step it had already pledged to do and, to date, had partially completed), and to establish a fund to pay refunds to customers who wish compensation.
