Iowa’s MRDC Planning Major Expansion

Mississippi River Distilling Company, often abbreviated as “MRDC,” established itself in LeClaire Iowa. Visitors to the Quad Cities area can stop by, enjoy sweeping views of the middle Mississippi from the distillery while sipping on whiskey, and then go up the road to check out the home base of the antique hunters made famous on American Pickers.

The distillery has become well-known in craft circles as one of the “Four Kings” of craft whiskey, a participant and the blending and bottling site for the original (and annual) craft whiskey collaboration project. However, it was Iowa’s legalization of sales-by-the-drink at distilleries and MRDC’s opening of a bar that has prompted their expansion. The distillery has enjoyed a substantial upswing in business since then, and now plans to develop the space between their existing property and a neighboring craft brewery into a bar and events space. They will name the new space The Speakeasy, and the project is billed at roughly $1 million.