Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. hosts grand opening

DeKALB – The owners of Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. know their location in rural DeKalb might be a limitation in years to come, but it’s also what has allowed them to gain so much success in such a short amount of time.

Whiskey Acres hosted its grand opening Friday, where the director of the Illinois Office of Tourism made an appearance, and the distillery’s three owners showcased their tasting room and distilling process.

“We have some limitations and we know that. We’re farm based and so we’re continuing to work through some challenges with the expansion and growth of the distillery as it relates to our location in the agricultural area of DeKalb County, but we still see this very much as a farming-first venture,” co-owner Jamie Walter said. “This is a value-added agricultural based product and so this is just a way for us to make a connection with our customers with the products that we make right here on the farm.”

The grains used to make Whiskey Acres’ products are all grown on the distillery’s property – something not many other distilleries do.

“Beyond just locally here, we’re the first estate distillery in the state of Illinois. An estate distillery means we grow our grains we use to make our whiskey. That’s a step change from what most distilleries are doing. So that’s unique not just to DeKalb, but to the state,” co-owner Nick Nagele said. “We’re actually the second certified estate distillery in the country. What that allows us to do is control the process from seed to spirit. From the seed we put in the ground to the spirit we put in the bottle.”

Although the distillery has been up and running since only July, the owners have acknowledged they’ll likely have to expand the business in the near future, Walter said. This came as a pleasant surprise, since the men are first and foremost farmers, and had limited experience with the alcohol side of their business until beginning production in December.

“We’re drinking from a fire hose when it comes to the distillation business, but I’m a fifth-generation farmer and so I stand on the shoulders of a number of people who come before me in farming,” Walter said. “It’s a part of the business I’m very familiar with.”

Nagele and Walter run the business with Jamie’s father, Jim Walter, who had been looking for an opportunity to add value to their farming business for a long time, he said.

“There’s a growing desire for people to have locally grown food and spirits – and so if they can get wine produced locally and if they can get a good beer produced locally – especially if they can go and see it being produced,” Jim Walter said.

Already the distillery has drawn a diverse customer base, which leaves them hopeful they’ll be able to expand their distribution beyond the nearly 200 Illinois locations their product is currently available, Nagele said.

“We’ve had over a thousand people come through. We’ve had somebody from every continent in the world,” he said. “I think we’ve had 17 countries and 20 states, right here on a farm in the middle of a cornfield.”

Although the owners plan to expand eventually, for now they’re focusing on mastering the local market, and telling the complete story of locally made drinks.

“We’re not sourcing local grain. We’re growing local grain. It’s beyond just getting it from somebody who’s down the road,” Nagele said. “We plant it. It’s right there. We harvest it. We clean it, mill it, cook it, ferment it, distill it, barrel it and bottle it all here. It’s more than local. We say it’s more than handcrafted. It’s barn crafted.”