{"product_id":"gentlemen-bootleggers-the-true-story-of-templeton-rye-prohibition-and-a-small-town-in-cahoots","title":"Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring 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.\" Just as Al Capone had Eliot Ness, Templeton’s bootleggers had as their own enemy a respected Prohibition agent from the adjacent county named Benjamin Franklin Wilson. Wilson was ardent in his fight against alcohol, and he chased Irlbeck for over a decade. But Irlbeck was not Capone, and Templeton would not be ruled by violence like Chicago. Gentlemen Bootleggers tells a never-before-told tale of ingenuity, bootstrapping, and perseverance in one small town, showcasing a group of immigrants and first-generation Americans who embraced the 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Marissa's Books \u0026 Gifts, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67771249721622,"sku":"ilb1792499595114","price":12.06,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0995\/4348\/2646\/files\/gentlemen-bootleggers-the-true-story-of-templeton-rye-prohibition-and-a-small-to_1.jpg?v=1792499602","url":"https:\/\/moposhdrops.shop\/products\/gentlemen-bootleggers-the-true-story-of-templeton-rye-prohibition-and-a-small-town-in-cahoots","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}