Whiskey Meets Community

West Fork Social House Brings Bourbon Passion & Neighborhood Charm to Broad Ripple

Co-founder and co-CEO Blake Jones joked about starting a business with his best friend, David McIntyre, when they were children — but in 2014, they made it a reality. After the success of their first location in Fountain Square, the West Fork Social House is opening a new location in Broad Ripple within the Bulldog restaurant this September.

West Fork Whiskey has come a long way since those early daydreams. Jones and McIntyre once thought about owning a bar and living above it in their early 20s, but quickly realized it wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle. They brought in their third cofounder, Jones’ brother, Julian, who has a science background. He earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry and biology, and dropped out of medical school after three years to join the business.

“We thought there was a good opportunity to start a whiskey brand in Indiana,” Jones says. “We’re known for corn and limestone, and we get great temperature fluctuations. We’ve all got a passion for bourbon, so we decided to cash our 401(k)s, take out some loans, max out some credit cards and start making bourbon.”

It was born out of a love for Indiana and its culture, blended with a love for bourbon.

“We wanted to create community gathering spaces,” he says. “That’s what bars, taverns and restaurants are, in our minds, supposed to be, for the various communities that they serve. We opened the West Fork Social House and dropped the ‘whiskey’ part of the name, as we have other cocktails and coffee. We want to bring a different craft experience to the Broad Ripple area.”

The new second location of the West Fork Social House will be inside the Bulldog and share space with the restaurant.

“We wanted to put these locations in places where people are already congregating for various reasons,” Jones says. “Broad Ripple has a lot of really fun, locally owned places. We wanted to have our own unique space in this community hub. We’re one of the only people who solely sell craft beer. This is a different experience with whiskey-forward cocktails and coffee. It’s an adult, low-key area off the strip.”

The West Fork Social House hosts trivia, live music, themed nights and other events, such as an upcoming coffee EDM event.

Marketing specialist Reagan Markland has been with the company for about four months. She started working with West Fork after having been a consumer of the brand, and she loves being able to combine her career with her personal interest.

She says that at its core, West Fork Social House is a neighborhood gathering place, aiming to be a spot where people can start their day, work remotely, meet friends for coffee or end the day with great cocktails.

“We treat the coffee and lattes like they’re cocktails, even though they’re not alcoholic. We get really artistic with them,” she says.

Some of her favorite drinks include the Dubious Behavior, a Dubai chocolate-inspired latte, and the Cosmo and Wanda, a strawberry and lavender matcha latte. The summer cocktail menu features a drink called Lost in the Sauce, with blackberry and basil. The bar also offers a flight of three different whiskeys: high rye, wheated and house.

“We built the menu with whiskey in mind, as we’re owned by West Fork Whiskey,” she says.

Another drink the Social House serves is the café horchata, a tequila espresso martini. The horchata is sourced from their neighbors down the road, a restaurant called Super Tortas Lucha Libre.

“It’s a really great drink, and speaks to partnership and working with the community,” Markland adds. “That’s what the second location is all about: being a part of the Bulldog and sharing a building with them and making those connections within the Broad Ripple community.”

“The Bulldog is still going to be there and serving up great food, but you can come to our space,” she says. “The Bulldog is a staple in that community and we’re excited to be partnering with them. At our Fountain Square location, we have some light snack items like chips, cookies and muffins. When we have events, we have some great catering partners in the area that we utilize. Since the Bulldog has excellent food already, we’re going to continue to let them do that.”

The staff of the new West Fork Social House will be a mix of veterans from the other locations and new recruits.

“We have some really great mixologists working on the menu for both locations,” Markland says.

For those interested in learning more about whiskey and seeing where it’s made, they can visit the West Fork Whiskey Co. in Westfield. The distillery offers a variety of tours and education opportunities, a chocolate pairing class, blind tasting tests, along with a full-service family-style restaurant and speakeasy-style bar.

“The Social Houses are kind of a tasting room, kind of a gathering space, they’re your neighborhood area and daily bar. The distillery is more of a destination,” Markland says.

The West Fork Social House is currently located at 1233 Shelby St., Suite 125, Indianapolis. The new location will open in September and share space with the Bulldog at 5380 N. College Ave., Indianapolis. The original West Fork Whiskey distillery is located at 10 E. 191st St., in Westfield.