Broadbent Distillery

Absolutely wonderful experience!
John took us through the entire operation of his small whiskey distellery and was full of all sorts of interesting facts and history.
Oh yeah, and the product tastes pretty darn great too!

Wow. Visiting Des Moines over the Memorial Day weekend and was looking for a Distillery Tour. Called Broadbent and left a voice mail. Saturday, John at Broadbent returned my call and said that he had just finished cutting grass and would be available if we wanted to visit. My wife, myself, and another couple took the drive out past Norwalk IA.

John is a fantastic wealth of knowledge about making whiskey and has a ton of great stories that he would love to share. You can tell in a couple minutes about how passionate he is about his craft If you are on a schedule, please let John know and he can adjust the visit. I think I could have pulled up a lawn chair and spent a couple of hours listening to John talk about his whiskey making experiences. My wife and friends almost got to the point that they were going to visit some other venues until Cheryl (John's wife) saved the day by asking if we want to do some tastings.

Everything we tasted including the Two Jay's Iowa Corn Whiskey, Two Jay's Iowa Corn Whiskey Country Style, and the Bella Limoncello was fantastic. We really liked Broadbent's Urban Style Light Whiskey. And we were able to buy a number of bottles to take home. Interestingly, we even found Broadbent Whiskey on the shelf at the HyVee Wine and Beer in Atlantic Iowa.

If you have an hour (or two) and want to see how whiskey is really made, give John a call and see if you can wrangle a visit to the Broadbent Whiskey Shed. It will be an experience you will not forget.

Short version:
While not extravagant, the tour around Broadbent Distillery was very educational. The owners were very friendly, and it's clear that they enjoy what they do. The tasting was fun, and it gave you a chance to try a lot of different whiskies. It was a neat little addition to an afternoon. A brewer or distiller-er may find a lot of the in-depth details to be very fascinating.

Long version:
I had never heard of this Distillery until I saw their offer on Groupon. Get a tour, a tasting, and $20 credit towards alcohol for just $14. We figured the alcohol price alone was worth it, so we made the 50 minute trek up to Norwalk.

First thing: This is a distillery on someone's property. A gorgeous farmland property. It's outside of Norwalk, and it actually is down a dead-end gravel road. I very-much recommend programming the address into your GPS. It was accurate on mine. Along with that, there are NO regular bathrooms here! They have a porta-potty for guests to use, but if you're anything like me, you're not going to be real interested in that. It's about a five-minute drive back into Norwalk, so I recommend you go before you make it to the distillery.

It's clear that the owners love making whiskey. We were walked through an entire tour of their history, their different whiskey products and how they came to be, and the entire whiskey-making process. I found it interesting that their whiskey business was borne out of an attempt at a wine-making business. The owner walks you through the various stages and explains how the whiskey is made. To be honest, the tour was a bit dry in excitement, but it was VERY plentiful in terms of information. While I wouldn't be able to make an entire batch purely based upon what I learned, I definitely have a much better idea of how whiskey is made. Unlike the beer-making tours I've been on, the owner didn't glaze over any specific details.

After that was the tasting. I suppose I was expecting a beer-like tasting, but this was a lot more involved. Each whiskey was poured in a small, tiny cup (less than an ounce each, I believe). Each one of the four of us tried each one of the whiskeys that Broadbent makes. They went from "softest" to "hardest" in terms of taste - ending with a cinnamon, "Red Hot" type of whiskey and a Grappa. The owners clearly loved having any feedback and finding the whiskey that suited you the most. At the end, they even asked if anyone wanted to try any of the whiskeys again.

You wouldn't think it, but their Lemonade whiskey REALLY tasted like lemonade. It's their Limoncello, and the owners said that it clearly is the favorite at every tasting they do.

After they finish the tasting, you'll get the chance to purchase some of the things they have for sale. They sell all of their own lines of whiskeys, and they sell t-shirts and hats as well. They also sell smoking chips. You can take a bottle right home with you after the tasting - they accept credit and cash.

I'm not sure that I'd come back to do another tour, but it was a very friendly operation. If you'd love to see how a small business makes whiskey, you'll enjoy a visit to Broadbent.

Best whiskey ever!!!! Loved the informative tour and I wish California would carry this product. No fillers and it's organic. This is a do not miss if you're in Iowa. :)))

Amazingly knowledgable owners and a very nice distillery. When we pulled up on a country road we didn't know what we were in for. We got the story of how the people winters started their business and some tastes of an amazing array of whisky's. Try the hootch!

I bought a few bottles of the Iowa Corn Whiskey. Not much to say as I am not a whiskey connoisseur, but I drank it. A few sips at a time. You don't mix the good stuff like this, save the 5 Star for that.

I compare this to Cedar Ridge and also Templeton Rye. Good for sippin.

I found this place on Google. I had no idea it was there, almost across the street from my house. I had no idea they did tours until after I saw the reviews here. I will have to stop by.

Great stop on our wine day! John and Cheryl were very nice and knowledgeable. Great history and education about whisky and federal/state regulations. Samples were yummy. Will definitely come back here!