Whiskey Acres Distilling Co.
11504 Keslinger Rd, DeKalb, IL 60115
Business Owner/President
Jamie Walter (President), Jim Walter, Nick Nagele
Business Phone Number
844.494.4753
Business Website
www.whiskeyacres.com
Number of Employees
13
Years in Business
3
Briefly describe the history of growth and/or job creation by the business
The idea of Whiskey Acres was conceived in 2011. After a couple of years of research, business planning
and check writing, Whiskey Acres incorporated in August of 2013. Over the course of the next year and
a half, Whiskey Acres was able to obtain federal and state distilling permits, build a distillery from
scratch, and successfully distill its first bourbon batch in December of 2014. Whiskey Acres opened its
tasting room to the public in July of 2015, and has since hosted over 8000 visitors from over 40 states,
40 countries and all 7 continents.
Whiskey Acres bottles proudly display our location in DeKalb, Illinois and can be found in over 300
locations throughout the state.
Whiskey Acres has 4 full time and 9 part time employees that work in the tasting room and distillery.
The building of the distillery and tasting room required the services of more than 20 local tradesmen,
including plumbers, electricians, and landscapers. We hope these numbers will continue to grow as we
do.
Please list awards, achievements or special recognition received by the business
Whiskey Acres is very proud to garner positive reviews from consumers, earn industry tasting awards
and appear in multiple features in local and national media:
Consumers Rate Us 4.9+ Stars: With a 5 Star Rating, Whiskey Acres is Trip Advisors #1 rated attraction in
DeKalb, Whiskey Acres is also proud to have a 5 Star Rating on Yelp, and 4.9 out of 5 Stars on Facebook
Ratings.
We’ve Won Multiple Medals: Whiskey Acres spirits have been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals at
the Denver International Spirits Competition, the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, the
American Craft Spirits Competition, and the American Distilling Institute spirits competition hosted in
Louisville, KY.
We’re in the Headlines: Whiskey Acres has been featured on WGN TV and in the Chicago Sun Times,
Travel Illinois Magazine, the Chicago Reader, the Prairie Farmer, Farm and Ranch Living, Top Producer,
Whiskey Advocate, DeKalb Chronicle, DeKalb Magazine and countless other local and regional
publications.
We’re also proud to have attracted the attention of local and state dignitaries, including Cory Jobe, the
director of the Illinois Office of Tourism, who not only helped cut the ribbon and fill a barrel at our grand
opening ceremony, but is championing our story through his Illinois tourism efforts.
Briefly describe how this business has gained the respect of customers and employees
The Whiskey Acres mission states: To sustainably grow, carefully distill, and profitably distribute our
grain as great-tasting, farmcrafted alcoholic beverages that our customers proudly share with their
family and friends. And we take this statement seriously. We strive to turn all customers into friends
through personal attention, respect and a good time.
Evidence of customers overwhelmingly positive experiences can be found by observing the high rankings
and comments on sites like TripAdvsior and Facebook, and also through the high volume of customers
who send their friends and come back to see us.
Our employees regularly invite friends and family to visit and experience the distillery, which speaks to
their pride in our business and their workplace. Additionally, most of our new employees are
recommendations from our existing employees - a statement of the satisfaction our staff has in working
with us.
Describe how this business has been involved in the community
Not only is our business in DeKalb, so is our home, which makes giving back to the community even
more important to us. We support as many events and community opportunities as we can, like hosting
celebratory after parties for participants of the Tour De Farm, including free tours, tastings and live
music. We also supported Corn Fest as a silver level sponsor and have donated items to more than 50
local auctions and charity events to help these organizations in their fundraising efforts.