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Mississippi River Distilling Company & Cody Road Cocktail House

Distillery and Cocktail Bar

LeClaire

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Products

River Pilot Vodka

Over a century ago, river pilots brought leclaire, iowa to life through their remarkable ability to navigate boats cleanly through the mississippi's dangerous cross currents, rocks & channels. The very first was philip suiter. River pilot vodka is handmade in le claire - overlooking the the river suiter piloted - & reflects the soul of this honest, honorable & down-to-earth pioneer. River pilot is a crystal clear vodka w/ unparallelled smoothess. We use 100% iowa ingredients in this product. First, we distill a clear sweet corn vodka using corn harvested less than 3 miles from our distillery. That spirit is blended w/ a neutral corn spirit distilled at a local corn processing plant. The two spirits are combined & then carbon filtered at our distillery. Finally, the blend is redistilled through our small batch process to ensure the smoothest & cleanest of vodkas. Each bottle is hand numbered to reflect the handcrafted dedication each bottle receives. This blend showcases a booming, but little known iowa industry. Iowa is the number one beverage alcohol producing state in the country. Hundreds of vodkas worldwide are made w/ spirits distilled at iowa corn processing plants. Because it isn’t bottled in iowa, people don’t know about the industry. We sell our alcohol byproducts to a local processor who redistills them into alcohol fuels. Knowing they also made spirits, we decided it would be a great collaboration to blend the spirits to make a premium local product. Pour river pilot vodka for pleasure beyond taste & raise a glass to the hardworking river pilots who tamed the mighty mississippi.

River Baron Artisan Spirit

In the era when grand steamboats were the lifeblood of the mississippi, powerful traders enhanced the life of communities. Known as river barons, they were the keepers of life's luxuries. As the big steamers powered from new orleans to st. paul & back, these barons directed the flow of fine goods, including wine & spirits. Reflecting their demand for premium quality, river baron is handmade in le claire, iowa. Its exceptional taste begins w/ grains harvested from local farms. A blend of corn & wheat, all delivered directly from the nearby farms where each kernel grew. It makes for a spirit like you've never tasted before. Full flavored w/ the flowery aroma of wheat & the sweet, smooth finish of corn. Premium distillation in small batches ensures the outstanding quality river barons demanded. We use only the sweetest, smoothest portion of each distillation run. Our signature spirit is distilled & filtered in small batches & the hand writing on the neck label ensures that each bottle has received the care it deserves. Try river baron for a sweet & smooth finish. Mix it like a vodka. Our favorites? White russians, sweet & citrus mixers, cola or root beer.. pour some today & tip your glass to the noble barons who built life along the mississippi

Cody Road Rye Whiskey

In 1846, william “buffalo bill” cody was born in leclaire, iowa. During his storied life, he was regarded as a regular purveyor of whiskey. Legend has it that rye whiskey was his spirit of choice. So we had to make a rye!handmade from 100% local rye purchased from dave & jim wherry in fulton, illinois. Our rye is a unique spirit that showcases the wonderful spiciness of this one-of-a-kind grain along w/ the delicate fruitiness that is often lost in rye whiskies. Rye is known for being a bold & spicy grain. We distill it very cleanly so you can experience a sweet fruitiness that is unexpected from rye. Then the signature spiciness will linger in the back of your mouth. Let it set in the glass for a few minutes & taste the complexities of rye as they soar from your glass. Perfect for classic cocktailing, the signature sweetness of this whiskey is a perfect compliment for many per-prohibition cocktail recipes that were invented when rye whiskey was king. We pride ourselves in the hard work that goes into each barrel of whiskey. We pride ourselves in the hard work that goes into each grain of our locally grown rye. Now, we're proud of the fine flavor of a truly unique rye whiskey. We hope you take pride in sharing some w/ your friends & raising a glass to one of america's greatest heroes. We like to think buffalo bill would be proud of it too. Enjoy a new stroll down cody road today!

River Rose Gin

River rose‍ honors a time when life along the river was gracious & inspiring. It is handmade in the historic river town of le claire, iowa along a dramatic bend in the mississippi where steamboat pilots of old would dock & hire local river pilots to navigate the harrowing rapids ahead. The steady hand & compass rose of these noble navigators made le claire famous. You can still see the historic homes of these revered river pilots if you visit le claire today. Reflecting the deep respect for local expertise, river rose is distilled w/ fresh grains from local farmers. Our unique blend of botanicals dates back to a recipe from the late 1800s. Highlighted w/ traditional juniper, river rose jumps from your palette w/ a full body of citrus including orange, grapefruit & lemon. Lavender, rose petals & locally grown cucumbers provide a distinctive finish that makes your martini swirl w/ aroma. Our slow, small batch process ensures a consistently clean & smooth finish. We hand write the batch number over each cork so you can see our commitment to every bottle that passes through our distillery. Our rose is a tip of the hat to the heroes of the waters, the bounties of the shore & a spirit of adventure from a different time. Enjoy river rose & raise a glass to these legendary navigators.

Cody Road Bourbon Whiskey

In 1846, william “buffalo bill” cody was born in leclaire, iowa. On his journey down the “road of life”, he inspired & entertained many. Cody road bourbon is named in his honor. We put a unique signature on this spirit. You may not know that over 90% of american whiskies are made by 8 distilleries. While they make great whiskies, there are a lot of similarities. We feel craft distilling is at the same point that craft brewing was 15-20 years ago when the market saw only beer & light beer. Then the small guys introduced new & exciting flavors that changed the face of beer in this country. We want to be part of a similar revolution in spirits. This bourbon is made form a mash of 70% corn from leclaire, 20% wheat & 10% unmalted barley from reynolds, il. It is aged for one year in newly charred 30 gallon oak barrels, about half the size of a traditional whiskey barrels.Cody road bourbon is a flavor & aroma experience unlike any other. Enjoy sweetness of corn, light fruit from wheat & a grassy, nutty finish from the unmalted barley. Vanilla & caramel from the oak dance around the sweet grain. Bottled at 90 proof, this bourbon has enough kick to know it's bourbon, but a beautifully smooth finish. It is a grain forward whiskey by design, as our whole story here is about the local grain we use in each batch. A remarkably unique flavor w/ our signature smoothness. This premier bourbon bears william f. cody's name & it reflects his spirit

Limited Release Seasonals and "Still Crazy" Spirits‍

Uniquely local & uniquely flavorful. Our limited release spirits allow us to bring one-of-a-kind expressions to the market & partner w/ other local companies in the process. Click here for the batch notes on our limited products.

Seasonal No. 9 - Pride of the Wapsi Strawberry Vodka - July 2013

Our popular summer seasonal is back! Using fresh strawberries from pride of the wapsi, a berry patch just about 20 miles from us in long grove, iowa, we have this wonderful taste of summer. We fill the still w/ river pilot vodka & then add the fresh strawberries & let it steep overnight. The next day we redistill the vodka for a one of a kind smooth flavor. We are already making plans on next year's batch. We released 4,000 bottles of this seasonal spirit.

Seasonal No. 7 - Dry Dock Sorghrum - February 2013

We had a lot of folks ask for rum. But rum is made from sugar cane juice or molasses, neither of which are made in iowa. So we got creative & used sorghum syrup from lynville, iowa. Blended w/ a sugar distillate & barrelled in use cody road bourbon barrels, this is a one-of-a-kind flavor of the heartland. This is a one time release & will nto be back next year. So get it while you can! We released 4,000 bottles of this limited spirit.

Whiskey School

You love whiskey. So do we. And we want you to see what it’s all about from beginning to end. Experience whiskey in a whole new way w/ this up close & personal weekend. You’ll get a chance to do everything from the mashing to distilling to bottling. Learn more about the history of whiskey. Take a sensory journey through the distillation process. Learn to make classic cocktails w/ handmade spirits. This is a complete whiskey weekend you’ll never forget.

Still Crazy - Mono Loco Banana Flavored Rye Whiskey - September 2013

We're not crazy, just bananas! We made only 1,032 bottles of this unique whiskey. We started w/ our cody road rye whiskey & infused it w/ 1,000 pounds of real bananas for about a week. The result was filtered & bottled as mono loco which is spanish for "crazy monkey" & we think this one lives up to the name.

Seasonal No. 8 - Queen Bee Honey Whiskey - April 2013

The sweetness of fresh, local honey from preston, iowa blends w/ bourbon for this delicious spirit. No sugar is added, simply the true sweetness of real iowa honey. The result is a perfect sipper w/ a natural seetness unlike any other on the market. We went through nearly 60 gallons of honey to make this spirits. This whiskey will be back next spring. We released 5,000 bottles of this limited spirit.

"My Whiskey" Custom Whiskey Program

Do you have an idea for a great whiskey? Want your own custom whiskey for your bar or restaurant? You & some buddies want your own label for the hunting camp? Want an amazing one-of-a-kind holiday gift? Here's your chance!we will custom make a 30 gallon barrel of whiskey for you. You pick the grain bill, the yeast, the barrel, the age & the proof. You even get to name it! When it's done, you get all the whiskey in the barrel & the empty barrel to display proudly. It's a fairly involved process. The cost is $6,000 per barrel. $3,000 is payable to the distillery to start the project. The second $3,000 will be paid to a licensed retailer who will take delivery of your stock once the project is finished. At 80 proof, your barrel should produce about 160 bottles of finished whiskey. That works out to be about $38 per bottle.

Adopt-a-Barrel

You love our whiskey & now you want the ultimate collectible keepsake... the barrel! We're cranking up our whiskey production & you can help. We have released 50 barrels for the 2013 holiday season! Gets yours before they are gone! For $400, you become the proud adoptive parent of a rye or bourbon barrel. (Your choice) we will fill it w/ whiskey & put it in the barrel room for a year to age. Once it's done, we'll contact you & invite you to come help us bottle the whiskey from that barrel. Once bottled, you get 6 bottles of our whiskey (retail $228) & you get to keep the empty barrel (retail $200) . You'll get a commemorative certificate marking your barrel adoption if you'd like to give it as a gift. All barrels adopted in 2013 will be bottled during calendar year 2014. the barrels are 30 gallon, charred, north american white oak barrels. Dimensions are 30" height, 18.25" width, 21" bilge. It has 6 16 gauge bands & a stave thickness of 1 1/8". Great for home brewers & whiskey enthusiasts. (Keep in mind, we are unable to ship bottles or barrels. So to participate, you need to be able to pick your barrel up when it is ready. )

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