Scott Bush sold a major stake in Templeton Rye two years ago, but as proof that the spirits never really left him, he has returned as the proprietor of Foundry Distilling Co. in West Des Moines.

The move lets him flex some entrepreneurial muscle; he plans to offer at least one top-selling national vodka brand some stiff competition in Iowa.

Bush brought his concept for a craft distillery to a cavernous structure in a former Rock Island Railroad Co. repair shop and foundry in West Des Moines. The building offers a blend of food and beverage businesses, including a beer hall and, opening in 2019, a unique commissary kitchen that will train at-risk youth to become chefs.

Foundry Distilling opened in late summer, with the Alchemy Lounge providing the first blush of the better than a decade that Bush has worked in the spirits industry and his concepts of unique offerings. The lounge provides cocktails made from recipes supplied by bartenders from across the country, many including local ingredients and all featuring Foundry Distilling gin, vodka and rum.

It is a place to swing by for a drink after work — the lounge opens at 4 p.m. — en route to a special dinner or for a night cap. The atmosphere is subdued, the seating comfortable and the spacing adequate for private conversation.

Your nose tells you that more is at play inside the old brick walls and beneath the structure’s cavernous ceiling. The rich smell of distilling spirits wafts through Foundry Distilling.

Beyond the lounge, and open for tours at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., is the distillery, home to a 30-foot-tall, 21-plate still — Bush says it could be the tallest still in the craft distillery industry — and nearby a 500-gallon copper pot still and a 500-gallon open-topped cypress wood fermenter. Both of the stills were designed and built in Iowa.

“We’re really designed for people to come around and experience the place,” Bush said. “It’s really something I have wanted to do for many, many years. Templeton was just such a rocket ship that it took all my attention.”

Bush still owns a piece of Templeton Rye, the company he founded 12 years ago with Keith Kerkhoff. In 2016, California-based Young Holdings became the majority owner in a transaction that provided needed capital to build a distillery in Templeton, where both men had grandfathers who were part of the town’s famous bootlegging operation during Prohibition. Young’s acquisition also resulted in construction of a distillery in town.

Templeton Rye hit at a time when interest in craft distilleries boomed. Bush notes that the part of the business where he excelled as an entrepreneur faded as Templeton Rye’s popularity grew across the country.

Bush has a master’s degree in new product and venture development from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He began working on Templeton Rye in his Boston apartment in 2002, while a student at MIT. His career includes stints in banking and venture capital.

At the moment, Bush is particularly pleased with Foundry Vodka, which is for sale at local retailers, such as Hy-Vee Inc. The product is selling extremely well, he said. He hopes to overcome national brand Tito’s Handmade Vodka as a top seller, at least in Iowa.

Bush said he will produce another rye whiskey at some point, but what he finds “really exciting” is the development of a five-grain whiskey.

“I really want to be experimental and build a world-class distillery for Iowa,” he said.

Foundry Distilling is creating special blends that are aged in the casks of some of his favorite craft breweries. The Business Record took a sip of “history in the making,” as Bush described it, when the first dribble of a whiskey blended from Minnesota-based Surly beer came out of the still. The brewery-distillery alliance has been tried on a small scale at other distillers, but Bush plans a large-scale operation.

“A few people have done it, but no one has really done it on any scale,” Bush said. “We’re so into collaboration, and there are so many wonderful brewers in the country and the state of Iowa that we want to work with that. We thought it would be neat to let them do what they’re really great at, which is step one, and then we would step in and ferment and distill and barrel-age.”

Foundry Distilling also offers individuals and companies the opportunity to create their own special batch of spirits. Under the Private Barrel program, Foundry Distilling works with clients, some bringing their own recipes, others relying on Foundry Distilling’s expertise, to make whiskey. 

From the category of it takes one to know one, Bush is working with real estate entrepreneur Steve Bruere on a whiskey made from corn harvested from a farm near Booneville.

“This is a fun thing,” Bruere said. “I toured the new facility, and I can’t help myself. My wheels started turning and I just started asking questions about if we took corn off of a field we manage, could you do something special for us.”

Both teams are working on a name and a label for whiskey that eventually will be served at company events for Bruere’s Peoples Co. and related firms and for clients.

A special sampling could be held at Foundry Distilling’s tasting room. Built into a space that once served as the furnace room for the building, the small bar can cater dinners, corporate events and the unveiling of private brand spirits.

“If someone is a whiskey connoisseur or just wants to start a great whiskey collection, these will be some of the most unique whiskeys in the world,” Bush said.

Bush envisions a day when Foundry Distilling will entice whiskey collectors from around the globe to West Des Moines to sample the company’s products. n