"Boardwalk Empire" State of Drink

How do you celebrate the season premiere of a television show centered on the Prohibition era? By taking a drink, of course.
That's
the premise behind the promotions for two separate whiskies as HBO's
"Boardwalk Empire" starts it second season on Sunday. Canadian Club and
Templeton Rye, both of which have historic connections to the dry era
that ensued after America's 18th Amendment took effect in 1920, are
suggesting a libation may go best with the return of the critically
acclaimed cable series.
"Boardwalk
Empire," which is beginning its second season, follows the career of
Nucky Thompson, the political boss of the wide-open town of Atlantic
City, New Jersey. Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi, is not-so-loosely
based on the real-life Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, who decided to create an
American playground at the seaside resort by allowing certain
vices-alcohol, gambling and prostitution-to flourish there (for a price)
even as they were outlawed.
Canadian
Club, a whisky that, with that nation's spirit in general, got a
definite boost from Prohibition, is selling limited-edition "Boardwalk
Empire" packages with its six-year-old bottling. The bottle ($13.99)
comes with a logoed flask wrapped in a branded necker.
For
its part, Templeton Rye has created a viewing-party guide, complete
with cocktail recipes, entertainment suggestions and costume advice
based on the flapper fashions and dandy-ish male attire of the era. The
guide is available through the blog section of the whiskey's
website.
Both
products can claim an important connection to the era. Canadian whisky
became an American favorite during Prohibition because of the ease of
smuggling it from our neighbors to the north, who were still legally
allowed to make whisky. Contraband shipments began almost as soon as the
Volstead Act was passed to enforce Prohibition.
Canadian
whisky enjoyed a quality gap over American product even after
Prohibition ended, as it took our domestic producers years to mature
spirits that could compete with Canada's. Canadian Club is said to have
been a favorite of bootlegger Al Capone, who plays a minor part in the
television show.
The
distillery operated just across the border from Detroit in Windsor,
Ontario, and it's estimated that some 20,000 cases of Canadian Club were
smuggled into the United States during the era that lasted from 1920 to
1933. (You can read more about this in my Wine Spectator piece on Canadian whisky.)
Templeton
Rye is a craft distilled American straight rye whiskey created in 2006.
The company says, however, that its recipe is based on one used in its
home of Templeton, Iowa, when illicit whiskey was made there during
Prohibition. The company also claims that the recipe was a favorite of
Capone's. (Apparently, he was a well-rounded drinking man.)
Ironically,
Canadian whisky was responsible for the long dry period experienced by
American rye even after Prohibition and up until its recent vogue.
Canadian, often erroneously thought to be straight rye, replaced what
was originally America's whiskey of choice in the hearts of drinkers
here.
This
is not Canadian Club's first star turn in a television period drama.
"Mad Men," the 1960s era picture of the ad industry, which has been
lavished with Emmy awards for years, features the whisky as the go-to
brand of the main character, Don Draper.
If
you'd like a more in-depth and researched view of the dry era, watch
Ken Burns's excellent "Prohibition," a three-part documentary that
debuts on PBS on October 2. Of course, such a program is best viewed
while having a stiff cocktail.