Templeton Rye documentary to screen in Iowa City

[Matt F]

Templeton Rye documentary to screen in Iowa City

A documentary film about Iowa-based Templeton Rye will be screened at the University of Iowa's Bijou Theatre in Iowa City in March.

The film, "Capone's Whiskey: The Story of Templeton Rye," was made by Kristian Day, a Rock Island native who attended high school in Cedar Rapids. It chronicles the history of the infamous whiskey cookers of Carroll County from their outlaw days of Prohibition to when the liquor became legal in 2006.

During the Prohibition Era, west central Iowa farmers cooked whiskey in their barns and machine sheds to supplement their income. The finished product was deemed to be of such a high quality that it quickly made its way to speakeasies in Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha through Italian gangster Al Capone.

The film will screen at 7 p.m. March 2 and 3 and at 3 and 5 p.m. on March 4. The Bijou Theatre is located in the UI's Iowa Memorial Union.