Crafting whiskey that respects the past, yet is inspired by the future, Templeton Distillery captures the essence of a small town with a strong spirit. With over 100 years of history in their hometown of Templeton, Iowa, their story is one built on the shared experiences of their community. Since 2006, Templeton has been leading the American Rye revolution, but as they concluded construction on their new, state-of-the-art distillery, the goal was to find a way to not only share where Templeton comes from, but where it’s headed. Every good revival has its way of bringing history into the now. The story of how Makers & Allies led the Templeton team through a complete rebrand is no different. It’s less about making things the way they used to be, and more about using the influence of the past to guide the brand’s future. We worked closely with the Templeton team to breathe new life into the brand, tell their story of a rye revival, and share their town’s deeply rooted whiskey way of life.

The key to any rebrand is to begin with a thorough understanding of who you are, what you represent, and the foundational ideals that will carry your brand into the future. Our first goal with the Templeton team was to define these aspects of both Templeton Distillery (the place) as well as Templeton Rye (the product). Via extensive market research, stakeholder interviews, and a discovery visit to the cornfields of Iowa, we worked closely with the Templeton team to define how we would take inspiration from the true bootlegging stories of their hometown, yet begin to shift the perspective to the future and the growth potential of their rye whiskey in the American market.

Once the foundation was set, we got to work designing the center of the Templeton universe – the package! Our inspiration was both classic Americana as well as the town of Templeton, Iowa itself. Custom glass was clearly the way to go for this spirit, allowing us to both show off the liquid while still providing the opportunity to showcase the new brand identity systems we’d created. Using the same glass mold for the 4, 6, and 10 Year was important both for consumer recall as well as price per unit, allowing us to really embellish the newly released 10 Year to feel like the premium product it is, with a custom metal label, charm medallion, and custom closure. The result is a cohesive lineup with clear SKU differentiation.