EIF-B_Where We Come From

SPIRIT OF IOWA
RAISING A
TOAST
TO THE
SPIRIT
of Iowa
farmers
Mississippi River
Distilling Co. looks
local when buying rye,
barley, wheat and corn
for its niche business
BY JENNA STEVENS
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
When brothers Ryan
and Garrett Burchett
opened the doors of
their LeClaire distillery
some 13 years ago, they
didn’t go far to source an important raw
material.
All of the grain used in the operation
comes from farmers within a 25-mile
radius, Ryan Burchett said.
“One of the farmers who we purchase
grain from came in and tried our vodka.
He asked us if his corn was in that bottle,
and we told him, yes,” Ryan said. “He
said that it might be the first time outside
of feeding his cattle that he could say
with certainty what his grain was being
used for. That was a big moment for us,
too, because we try hard to make sure we
source as many things as we can from
small producers and manufacturers.”
While the brothers pride themselves
on using local products, the company’s
customer base reaches far beyond their
Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois raw
material markets.
The distillery sells to other bars, including
one at the very top of the map in
Minnesota, which marks the start of the
Mississippi River. The goal is to eventually
get their spirits into the bar at the very
end of the Mississippi, creating a chain
along its mighty banks, Ryan said. Mississippi
River Distilling Co. products can
also be purchased in retail stores around
the country.
Located on the Mississippi River, the
distillery opened its doors in 2010 when
the Burchetts saw an opportunity in what
was a small niche market.
“At the time that we opened there were
only 200 other distillers in the country,”
Ryan said. “Regulations for distillers in
Iowa dated back to Prohibition, and over
the course of the last 13 years, we have
worked with Iowa legislators to update
these rules to make significant industry
changes. Most people don’t know this,
but Iowa is the number one beverage
alcohol-producing state in the country.”
In order to distill their spirits, the
company uses rye, barley, wheat, and
corn, When the brothers first started and
wanted to purchase grain, a 50-pound bag
of milled corn was $50.
“I knew that a bushel of corn was selling
for a whole lot less than that,” Ryan
said. “So, we bought our own hammer
mill and started milling our own corn that
we purchase locally.”
Getting the product from the farm to
76 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | SPRING 2024 eifarmer.com