Quinton’s is a popular spot right next to the Englert Theater in downtown Iowa City that has a much more complex history than one might expect, even if you’ve been a long-time patron. It’s been around since the turn of the century, but it isn’t originally an Iowa City establishment. The first Quinton’s was started back in 1991 all the way over in Lawrence, Kansas, as a Kansas Jayhawks bar. It quickly became a hotspot to watch Jayhawk basketball and the owner, Steven Gaudreau, turned out to have big dreams for his little college bar. He quickly started opening other locations when he saw that his idea had proof of concept in Lawerence. His expansion was not just limited to Kansas, but also to the greater plains area, with locations in both Missouri and Iowa opening within a decade of the first Quinton’s. The Iowa City location was the first in Iowa, opened in 1999. In 2006, a group of Iowa grads with entrepreneurial aspirations of their own bought out the location from its original owner. They continued in the same expansionist spirit of its previous tenants, opening locations in both Coralville and Des Moines in their first five years owning the place. Two more locations in Cedar Rapids would quickly follow, upping the count of Quinton’s in Iowa to five by 2013. All five locations remain open today and have now outlived the original Quinton’s, which was eventually sold to new ownership and never reopened after the pandemic closure (although the original owner is reviving the brand in Wichita by rebranding one of his other restaurants).

I think this unique history shows how much of a staple Quinton’s has become in Iowa, and this certainly is true of its Iowa City location. The storefront is unassuming, but it opens up into a warm and welcoming bar area with two levels of seating and plenty of TVs for game day. The food is great from my limited exposure and it has a solid craft beer selection, both bottle and tap. Their whiskey selection is nothing to sneeze at, either.

WHISKEY SELECTION

Variety: Bourbon, Rye, Scotch, Irish, Crown

Range: Average. They have 19 unique bottles of whiskey, including several flavored whiskeys. This is the first bar I’ve come across in this review process to provide that, so I’ll give them credit for catering to the student/mixing crowd in a college town. They have several selections of bourbon and then carry the bare minimum for the other whiskey categories, with only one Rye, one Irish, one blended Scotch, and one single malt.

Price Point: Most pours will run you $8. Bottles that are tapped instead of corked will be cheaper, though, only costing $5. I was told that they have sold their Irish, Jameson, at different prices depending on bottle size and price from their supplier. There is no whiskey menu to speak of, but all their bottles are easy to spot behind the bar. 

Wells: At the time they had 5 Star Whiskey, but they just buy whatever is available and may have Bartons or Mr. Boston instead if that’s what they can get. It’s $5 for a double well pour.

Top Shelf Selection:  None. Their best bottle is probably their Cedar Ridge Bourbon. The only other notable bottles to me were the Turkey 101 and Glenfiddich (need to confirm if it’s Glenfiddich or Glenlivet).

Grade: C

Overall Thoughts: Quinton’s has a decent amount of whiskey, but going with a bare minimum selection for most of their whiskey styles makes me not be able to give them more than pure average. Perhaps it could raise a bit if I begin to find that most bars in Iowa City don’t give as good a variety, but this place feels like a perfect middle of the road. It’s not a bar that focuses on whiskey at all, but you can walk in without any knowledge of the place and still be able to get a basic pour of most any whiskey type. And that feels like a good baseline for what I want when I walk into a bar and want a whiskey. 

I wouldn’t specifically go to Quinton’s for whiskey, but it’s a great establishment anyways, so I expect I’ll be there occasionally regardless.