The February Iowa NAMA meeting was held February 24, with guest Ryan Burchett of Mississippi River Distilling Company speaking to the group about his start-up business in LeClaire, Iowa.  Ryan and his brother Garrett decided to take a chance on a dream and start Mississippi River Distilling Company in 2010.  Since opening, they have been featured on FoxNews.com and named “Best of What’s New” by Midwest Living Magazine.  Ryan explained how they got started and established themselves as a “local” company – with everything from their building to their t-shirts and especially their ingredients coming from local resources.  All of the grain for their distillery comes from local farmers, and everything is done under one roof, from raw grain to bottling and hand-marking each bottle.  Ryan also discussed their sales and marketing tactics with the group, describing how their Facebook presence and word of mouth have been their main tools since opening.  Iowa NAMA members greatly appreciated Ryan taking the time to talk about his local family business; to learn more, please visit the Mississippi River Distilling Company website at www.mrdistilling.com.