Journeyman Distillery

In 2013 Indiana passed the Artisan Distiller's Permit, letting distillers sell directly to consumers.⁵ In 2018 Journeyman paid to haul its waste to LaPorte and Niles, since the Three Oaks system could not handle it.¹² It put plans to expand in Three Oaks on hold and began planning a site in Valparaiso, Bill Welter's hometown.¹² On 3 December 2021 it broke ground on turning the abandoned Anco windshield wiper factory there into a 140,000-square-foot site with plans for a distillery, brewery and restaurant.^13,14 The American Factory opened in 2023 with a restaurant and event spaces; brewing and distilling came in a later phase, on a 35-foot-tall Vendome copper column still.^6,7,15 In November 2023 Gregory Wynnyk, formerly distillery manager at Alberta Distillers Ltd., was named director of brewing and distilling for both sites.⁹

Water for production comes from the aquifer beneath Three Oaks.¹⁶ In 2021 it stored up to 7,000 barrels of whiskey on site and in other nearby buildings.¹⁰ By 2025 it had three named stills in Three Oaks: Willy Wonka, Tassie and Ethel.¹⁵