Gala Sponsor Spotlight: West Fork Whiskey Co.

By: Seth Johnson

Attendees of this year’s Through the Looking Glass Gala on Saturday, Sept. 28 will get to take part in an exclusive bourbon tasting, thanks to a recent partnership forged between West Fork Whiskey Co. and the Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation.

The photo features a building entrance. The building has a wooden facade with the words "West Fork Whiskey Co" prominently displayed at the top. The entrance features large glass doors with a couple of potted plants on either side. The sky above is clear and blue. Founded in 2014 by three Indiana natives, the locally based distillery was started in Downtown Indianapolis before opening their 35,000-square-foot facility in Westfield, where they now distill approximately 100,000 cases of whiskey a year. While they may be fairly new to the distilling game, partnership and promotion coordinator Alex Schmitt says West Fork Whiskey Co. has steadily grown over the past decade.

“We started out with the small-batch barrels, which are 30 gallons, and we’re now actually moving up to 53-gallon barrels,” Schmitt says. “We’ve quadrupled our production since we started.”

West Fork Whiskey Co. products are now distributed to several states outside of Indiana, including Colorado, Florida and Illinois, with more expansion to come.

“We’re working on Kentucky,” Schmitt says. “In the next 6 to 10 months, we should be in 10 more states.”

Considering the distillery’s roots, Schmitt says they’ve always been about supporting other nonprofits and small businesses in the Central Indiana community.

“We’ve been doing the outreach stuff since we started as a company,” Schmitt says. “We’re a small business, so we want to help out other small organizations and businesses, keeping our roots in Indiana and trying to help out as much as we can in our given reach.”

It was through 2024 Gala presenting sponsor Eye Surgeons of Indiana that West Fork Whiskey Co. was connected with the Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation.

“We help provide Eye Surgeons of Indiana with a space where they host their internal events,” Schmitt says. “We love to help out and be a big player in the community.”

At this year’s Through the Looking Glass Gala, VIP ticket holders will have access to an exclusive cocktail crafted by West Fork Whiskey Co. bar manager Kyle Pettigrew known as the Rye & Shine. According to Schmitt, the cocktail consists of West Fork Whiskey High Rye, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup, Angostura bitters, club soda, and a lemon twist for garnish.

To stay up to date with all things West Fork Whiskey Co., be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram.