Gentlemen bootleggers : the true story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a small town in cahoots /
Bauer, Bryce T.
Gentlemen bootleggers : the true story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a small town in cahoots / Bryce T. Bauer. - 282 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-276) and index.
"During Prohibition, while Al Capone was rising to worldwide prominence as Public Enemy Number One, the townspeople of rural Templeton, Iowa--population just 428--were busy with a bootlegging empire of their own. Led by Joe Irlbeck, the whip-smart and gregarious son of a Bavarian immigrant, the outfit of farmers, small merchants, and even the church Monsignor worked together to create a whiskey so excellent it was ordered by name: Templeton Rye. Gentlemen Bootleggers tells a never-before-told tale of ingenuity, bootstrapping, and perseverance in one small town, showcasing a group of immigrants who embraced the American ideals of self-reliance, dynamism, and democratic justice. It relies on previously classified Prohibition Bureau investigation files, federal court case files, extensive newspaper archive research, and a recently disclosed interview with kingpin Joe Irlbeck. Unlike other Prohibition-era tales of big-city gangsters, it provides an important reminder that bootlegging wasn't only about glory and riches, but could be in the service of a higher goal: producing the best whiskey money could buy"--
9781613748480 (hardback) 1613748485 (hardback)
2014011191
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
TRUE CRIME / Organized Crime.
COOKING / Beverages / Wine & Spirits.
Prohibition--History.--Iowa
Distilling, Illicit--History.--Iowa
Whiskey--History.--Iowa
Templeton (Iowa)--History--20th century.
HV5090.I8 / B38 2014
364.1/32209777465
Gentlemen bootleggers : the true story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a small town in cahoots / Bryce T. Bauer. - 282 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-276) and index.
"During Prohibition, while Al Capone was rising to worldwide prominence as Public Enemy Number One, the townspeople of rural Templeton, Iowa--population just 428--were busy with a bootlegging empire of their own. Led by Joe Irlbeck, the whip-smart and gregarious son of a Bavarian immigrant, the outfit of farmers, small merchants, and even the church Monsignor worked together to create a whiskey so excellent it was ordered by name: Templeton Rye. Gentlemen Bootleggers tells a never-before-told tale of ingenuity, bootstrapping, and perseverance in one small town, showcasing a group of immigrants who embraced the American ideals of self-reliance, dynamism, and democratic justice. It relies on previously classified Prohibition Bureau investigation files, federal court case files, extensive newspaper archive research, and a recently disclosed interview with kingpin Joe Irlbeck. Unlike other Prohibition-era tales of big-city gangsters, it provides an important reminder that bootlegging wasn't only about glory and riches, but could be in the service of a higher goal: producing the best whiskey money could buy"--
9781613748480 (hardback) 1613748485 (hardback)
2014011191
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
TRUE CRIME / Organized Crime.
COOKING / Beverages / Wine & Spirits.
Prohibition--History.--Iowa
Distilling, Illicit--History.--Iowa
Whiskey--History.--Iowa
Templeton (Iowa)--History--20th century.
HV5090.I8 / B38 2014
364.1/32209777465