Complete our step-by-step questionnaire to get the process started. Fill out to the best of your ability and our team will review with you. To help you plan your experience, click here.
Schedule your distillery production with appointments starting in Spring 2018. Production generally takes five to seven days. You may join us in Des Moines for a couple of days and work side-by-side with our team to produce your whiskey. If you choose to join us, we will help coordinate a great time in our fair city with whatever you like to do for fun. We specialize in cool bars, steakhouses and golf courses.
- MASHING - 1 day
- FERMENTATION - 3-5 days
- DISTILLING/BARRELING - 1 day
We'll be in touch with you leading up to your appointment to help you decide on all the details: mash bill grains, enzymes, pH, specific gravity, yeast strain, fermentation temperatures, barreling proof, etc. During distillery production, you'll monitor the mashing, fermentation and distillation process, as well as help put your whiskey into your personalized (30-gallon) and pilot (5-gallon) barrels. We will send you home with a photo album highlighting your adventure, as well as a display of your mash bill for your home bar or office.
Next, you'll work with one of our graphic designers to bring your whiskey to life. We'll work together to create a distinctive logo that will be the basis for the product and eventual label, subject to approval of the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
Waiting is hard so we'll try to make it easier with regular information on how your own custom whiskey is aging. Every quarter, you'll receive an update and sample from your barrel*.
*Subject to applicable laws.
Between 6 to 12 months after barreling, we'll send you your first bottled whiskey. You'll receive approximately 30 bottles from your 5-gallon pilot barrel, with timing based on our collective decision on how the spirit is aging. The smaller pilot barrel is designed to increase the contact of the whiskey with the charred oak inside the barrel, which accelerates the aging process. We'll quarterback the label approval process as well as make arrangements with a local distributor in your area for legal delivery of your special whiskey for you and your friends to enjoy.
We'll continue to send quarterly updates and samples as the whiskey in your 30-gallon barrel ages. Around 24-36 months after barreling, it should be good to go but that's up to you. When you decide your product is ready, we'll send you approximately 175 bottles of your custom whiskey. That exact number will depend on various factors including the angel's share and proof decisions we'll make together. Once again, we'll work with a local distributor to arrange a legal delivery. It's your call on how to celebrate, but we're guessing a party with good friends will be in order. You'll, of course, enjoy responsibly. After all, you'll have some very special inventory to enjoy and discuss for years to come.
Try Our Whiskey Experience Planner
Just answer some basic questions, and we'll be back in touch in two to three days with a free, no-obligation personalized plan and pricing for your whiskey experience in Des Moines.
Just answer some basic questions, and we'll be back in touch in two to three days with a free, no-obligation personalized plan for your whiskey experience in Des Moines.
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Don't stress stress about your answers. If you decide to move forward with your own private barrel, we'll work with you every step of the way to refine your choices and create an extraordinary experience.
- Click on this icon as you move through the process to learn more about various aspects of whiskey production.
First, we need a recipe, or Mash Bill as it's known in industry. You can choose from a variety of grains below:
MASH BILL
Fill in preferred percentages
| Barley | |
| Buckwheat | |
| Corn | |
| Millet | |
| Oats |
| Quinoa | |
| Rice | |
| Rye | |
| Sorghum | |
| Wheat |
To achieve proper conversion of starches to sugars, you will need a certain % of malted barley in your recipe. Check one of the boxes below for the type of malted barley you would like to explore.
- Canadian 2-Row Barley
- Canadian 6-Row Barley
- Canadian Distiller's Malt
- Northwest Pale Malt (Washington)
- American 2-Row Barley (Wisconsin)
- Heidelberg Base Malt (Germany)
- Please choose for me
Now, it's time for fermentation, the process of converting sugar to alcohol. There are many different yeast options from a variety of companies. Please select the ones that look interesting to you.
YEAST
Yeasts are microscopic organisms classified as fungi. They are single-celled and reproduce by budding. During fermentation, yeast multiplies vigorously initially while there is oxygen present. After the oxygen is used up, the yeast converts sugar into alcohol.
Please select at least one type of yeast.
- American Whiskey Yeast
- Tennessee Whiskey Yeast
- Scottish Yeast
- German Yeast
- Please choose for me
FERMENTATION STYLE
Open top fermentation is more traditional and allows you to see and smell the fermentation process. Open top fermentation does allow microorganisms in the air to be introduced into the process. Closed fermentation limits the opportunity for local microorganisms to interact with the wash.
Please select a Fermentation Style.
- Open top (cypress wood)
- Closed loop (stainless steel)
- Please choose for me
Now, we're ready for distillation, the process of concentrating alcohol by separating alcohol and water inside a still.
Alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water — 173 degrees vs. 212 degrees. As a still heats up, the alcohol vapors make their way up the column of the still. The still contains plates in the column and as the vapors hit a plate, they start to condense and further separate the ethanol from the water and other substances (congeners).
At the end of the process, the alcohol vapors reach the condenser, a vessel with fine copper tubes filled with cold water. As the vapors hit these coils, they are cooled and turn back into liquid form.
We will be making Foreshots, Heads, Hearts and Tails cuts during your distillation. Each fraction of the process contains various compounds that will impact the taste of the finished product.
Finally, it's time to put your incredible whiskey into a barrel.
BARRELING
At what proof do you want to barrel your whiskey?
125 proof is the maximum allowable and the most economical as each barrel contains more alcohol. Certain distillers choose to age at lower proofs based on their belief that it results in better product. Your choice here will be a target, and we will work toward it based on the final amount of distillate we produce.
Please select a proof.
- 125 proof (max)
- 120 proof
- 115 proof
- 110 proof
- Other
- Classic
- Seasoned
- #1
- #2
- #3
- #4
Now, help us plan the rest of your visit.
TRIP PLANNING
There is a fair amount of downtime involved in whiskey production. Our staff will obviously be present to oversee all production, and we'd like to give you a flavor of the great city of Des Moines and surrounding while you're here. Here's a link to our local tourism site, but please give us a little more information about your group and we'll help put together recommendations for a truly personalized, memorable experience.
How many people in your group? (max 6 people)
Please enter the number of people in your group.
How do the people in your group know each other?
Please enter how you know each other.
Please share any thoughts on your whiskey's brand name or label design.
Please share throughs on your whiskey's brand name or label design.
Upload images that give us a better sense of your whiskey project.
Please upload an image about your whiskey project.
What are the interests of your group?
Please select at least one interest.
- Cultural Attractions
- World Food Prize Building
- Science Center
- Art Center
- Golf
- Hunting
- Minor League Baseball
- Local Craft Beer Tour
- Local Winery Tour
- Other
What kind of restaurant experience(s) would your group enjoy?
Please select at least one restaurant experience.
- Premium steakhouse
- Chef-owned/local
- Farm-to-table
- Food truck
- Brew pub
- Other
What amenities would your group enjoy at the Distillery?
The Private Barrel Club Lounge will be your private space during your visit. The lounge includes a television, newspapers, magazines, internet, etc. If there is anything else you need, just let us know and we will do our best to make it happen.
Please select at least one amenity.
- Bloody Mary bar
- Happy Hour tastings
- Work space
- Other
Anything else you’d like to share?
Thanks for sharing. We'll be back in touch in two to three days with a free, no-obligation personalized plan for your whiskey experience in Des Moines.
