Meet our General Manager Ashley Kosowski: From Mommy to Distillery Queen

My journey from being a stay-at-home mother to a badass female in the craft spirit industry 

I started with the Indiana Whiskey Company about two years ago after primarily being a stay-at-home mom when my son was born in 2015. After COVID hit and shut down most of my mommy groups and other social outlets, I started to wonder what the future held for me. To be honest, I’ve never really fit into the “mommy group mold” anyway. I’ve always felt my outspoken personality places me a bit beyond the constraints of social propriety and modern suburbia. Feeling a bit stir-crazy, I began looking for opportunities that would allow me to get out of the house and make some extra cash while still managing to show up for my kids and maintain our household and hobby farm. That’s when my former college co-worker said IWC was looking for seasonal help. 

The first time I walked into IWC was during COVID, when I found myself desperate for hand sanitizer. I had never been there before, and I found myself marveling at its quaint, cute, and welcoming atmosphere. Little did I know that a few years later, I’d be walking back in for a job interview, ultimately leaving with a bottle of bourbon and a goodbye from the owner, Eric, who instructed me to “go home, drink this, and figure out how to sell it.” Excuse me, but WHAT?! 

Well, I ended up doing just that. And I did it pretty well, if I do say so myself. Both the drinking of the bourbon and figuring out how to sell it.

After the holiday season ended, I reached out to Eric and told him I’d be willing to continue to work markets as needed. But when I found out he was looking for distillery help, I jumped at the opportunity and practically begged for some shifts, telling him that my kids were driving me nuts. Thus began my journey into the creation and craft of the spirit itself. 

To be candid, I had never been much for drinking spirits; I was always more of a craft beer girly. To me, whiskey was solely for shooting, and I’m far too old for all of that. However, after initially struggling with the mash tun and navigating my way around the distillery, I eventually fell in love with the mash process. I genuinely enjoy the “beer making” part of distilling. To put it simply, I find it fun, shrugs. It involves science, patience, and cleaning, so it certainly appeals to my SAHM side. In fact, I even went a little Marie Kondo on the place and took it upon myself to label and reorganize the entire back area of the distillery. (I’m sort of anal like that, but in a professional context, let’s just call it attention to detail.) 

In some ways, working at the distillery has strengthened my sense of independence and my identity as a feminist. I no longer rely solely on my husband to pay for everything, or to carry heavy loads, both literally and figuratively. To put it bluntly, now I’m a strong little shit that lifts 50 lb. grain bags and drags 200-gallon totes around on a regular basis. Plus, I’m small (4’11 and around 100 lbs, but we won’t go into details, because I also like to drink what I make and have gained about 20 lbs. since starting here), so I’m one of the only employees who can fit inside the mash tun to really get into all those nooks and crannies. Kinda makes me feel special, you know? We moms need that sometimes.

I’m interested to see where my journey with IWC - or even distilling in general - takes me. For now, I’m just grateful that IWC has allowed me to escape these crazy kids, still be the mom I want to be, and feel a sense of accomplishment and contribution. 

Cheers!