Valparaiso University now has its own signature blend of rye whiskey thanks to a team of marketing students and Journeyman Distillery.
The students jumped on a suggestion from Dushan Nikolovski, clinical associate professor of entrepreneurship and director of VU’s Innovation Hub, that Journeyman would be interested in partnering with them.
In less than four months, the students worked with Journeyman founder and CEO Bill Welter to come up with a signature blend, bottle, label and marketing plan.
Old Gold, the VU-branded whiskey, will be sold by Journeyman, including online sales.
“It was truly a student-led project,” said Eric Matanyi, VU’s associate vice president of marketing and communications. The students gained real-world experience through the project.
Not only does VU get $5 from each bottle sold, but it also helps the university get more exposure, expanding its brand to tourists who visit Journeyman locations in Valparaiso and Three Oaks, Michigan, Matanyi said.
Jam McClellon, of Chicago’s South Side, said the 14 students were originally divided into two groups but decided to join forces on the whiskey project.
“I never had whiskey, and I really haven’t tested it out yet,” but he was looking forward to doing so.
The students put a lot of research into the project. They met with VU’s archivist to learn more about the university’s history before deciding on the name Old Gold, which seemed more traditional. VU’s colors are gold and brown.
The labeling includes both the Chapel of the Resurrection, built in 1959 on the university’s centennial, and the victory bell outside the Athletics-Recreation Center. “That’s what we wanted to do is bring back memories,” he said. Alumni are among the strongest pool of potential customers.
“Keep the dream alive,” former President OP Kretzmann’s catchphrase, is on the back label, said senior Rowan Keefe, of Park Ridge, Illinois.
“It was no small feat” to develop the product, he said. The team workshopped different brand ideas, conducted market research, designed the label and went through other phases of developing the product in a short time. “It’s a pretty unbelievable turnaround for a new product.”
“I’d like to think I played a little bit of a role in mediating that process,” Keefe said.
The market research included asking people what they thought represented Valpo. Options weren’t limited; they could be a landmark, a historic moment or even a person.
“How could we visually represent Valparaiso on a label?” had to be answered.
The chapel is a physical representation of what Valparaiso means as a Lutheran university, Keefe said. “We thought there was not better way to represent the university than putting it smack dab in the middle of the label.”
“I’m not like a huge whiskey guy,” Keefe said, but that didn’t stop him from tasting it. “In my opinion, it’s very good.”
“Really, for me, it was just realizing how many moving parts go into creating a finished product,” as his takeaway from the project, he said.
Cora Hall, a junior from Columbia City, said her biggest contribution was working on the landing page for the whiskey.
“I really just learned what it takes to do a product from start to finish,” she said.
“I thought this was a great idea,” Hall said. “Everybody loves a good drink,” and college students are no exception.
“I really like working with local business, I found out.” This experience could shape her future. “Even in my hometown, I’d love working with a local business doing marketing and event planning,” Hall said.
College of Business Dean Matt Luth was glad to see the students have something tangible at the end of their group project.
“It’s a concrete example of something we can tell students and potential students,” Luth said.
The students who developed the product might not want to take a bottle with them to job interviews, but they’ll be able to tell how they developed the whiskey, walking potential employers through the steps necessary to bring it to fruition, he said.
Welter said part of the fun for his team at Journeyman was coming up with the right flavor for the whiskey. Each barrel is different, and this blend is from two hand-selected barrels.
At Tuesday’s sold-out gathering of about 200 people, attendees were encouraged to sign two barrels, with one going to VU and one staying at Journeyman.
“I’m excited about this project,” the first in VU’s history, Welter said.
Creating signature blends of alcoholic beverages is becoming a trend in higher education, Matanyi said.
“This is history for us. This is a huge tradition for us,” Nikolovski said. “This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime.”
Nikolovski is working with Journeyman to not only continue sales of Old Gold but also develop limited-edition products for homecoming each fall, he said.
“We’re not done yet. We’re just getting started.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
