After new distilling equipment was installed, the building of large warehouses to store and age whiskey was priority. Eight & Sand blended whiskey is the newest product. Led through the rickhouse by our amazing tour guide, Amber, we tasted from 3 . Check out our daily deals and features. So Seagrams way around this was to include the smallest amount of malted barley necessary to keep this designation. |. Earlier this year, MGP acquired and merged with Luxco Spirits, a family owned liquor company HQ'd in St. Louis. The standard bottling is 47% ABV. While each of MGPs aging warehouses is a little different, all are brick-walled with concrete floors which help to keep temperatures consistent on each floor. A very different distillery experience - craft to the extreme. But in 1962, the government was persuaded by the industry to allow a new set of guidelines for distilling bourbon to bring up the maximum distillation proof to 160 and the maximum barrel entry proof to be 125. My day at MGP concluded with a full tasting of MGPs complete portfolio. As of this article, you can find their own products in just 13 states. Labelled a blended bourbon, its a blend of high rye bourbon, rye, light whiskey, and corn whiskey. It should come as no surprise to learn that Four Roses also sources their rye primarily from Germany as well. E. Seagram Lawrenceburg Plant.. But by 2014-2015, it began to appear that perhaps MGP had let too many barrels roll out too quickly. What became increasingly clear was that the success of MGP lies in the fact that it can pretty much customize whatever its clients desire. And same with Indiana: as the whiskey ages, the alcohol percentage goes down since alcohol evaporates faster than water. The MGP Ingredients property includes 92 buildings on 300 acres and was originally established in 1847, but there is evidence that people were distilling on that property as early as 1808, soon after the city of Lawrenceburg was founded. Next, the expansion team looked within their home state and found a massive warehouse in Sunman, Indiana that was previously owned by international packaging company Deufol. Here youll find travelogues, food guides, travel tips, and more all with a side of whisk(e)y. Your comment has not yet been posted. It's more than 51% bourbon bottled at 44% ABV. Footer sidebar. @Shelagh You'll have to try with the company directly; I don't work for them. Touring MGP Distillery is often compared to seeing inside Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory. Almost all large distilleries have these kinds of rooms with various control stations overseeing automation across several stages of distilling and fermenting, and almost all of them look like some version of Homer Simpsons work station at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. April 09, 2019 in bourbon, distilling, rye, trips, vodka, whisky | Permalink Drew Beard is Assistant Editor and Social Media Manager for Drinkhacker. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. MGP Distillery is one of the oldest whiskeys in the country, having been founded in 1797. In a podcast from a couple years ago, Jim Rutledge, the former master distiller of Four Roses, elaborated on the fact that quality control teams between both Seagrams and Four Roses would test each others yeast strains to verify that no genetic drift was occurring. The nose is fairly classic bourbon with plenty of caramel and just the right amount of fragrant oak. To many buyers, MGP bourbon (or any sourced/non-distiller produced bourbon) is an abomination to the art, craft, handmade, or small-batch bourbons and whiskeys. Light Whiskey should not be confused with Grain Neutral Spirits (GNS), which is another product that the Lawrenceburg Distillery makes a lot of. We partner with small startups and global brands alike to innovate in the food science industry and create some of Seagrams also produced a large amount of light whiskey at its Canadian distilleries with the Valleyfield Distillery in Quebec still producing large amounts of it for Diageo today. Foundry Distilling Continues Brewery Collaborations WIth Sixth Glass Whiskey, You Can Now Livestream From A Whiskey Barrel. Please check your entries and try again. It is common now to find many brands out there like Tumblin Dice, Smooth Ambler, Barrell Craft Spirits and Backbone Bourbon Company releasing 4-5 year old aged distillate simply because there are no older stock available for purchase. The MGP distillery has been around since 1847, under various different owners, most famously Seagram's, whose name still adorns the facade. With this change of ownership came the official splitting of the close ties that bonded the Indiana distillery with the conglomerate of other North American distilleries to include the Four Roses Distillery, which had also been owned by Seagrams up until this point. The company was sold to Pernod-Ricard and owned by them until 2007, when it was purchased by MGP. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Details: Heaven Hill's wheated mash bill (68% corn, 20% Wheat, and 12% malted barley). More than 50 brands source whiskey from MGP, including Angels Envy, Bulleit, High West, Redemption, and Whistlepig, to name a few. After distillation, Seagrams aged it in previously used barrels for as long as was necessary. They are currently available in 14 states with hopes to eventually reach the entire United States. Camper English | I live in Naples Florida I need help getting this, Posted by: Hi, I'm Kelli Nakagama, the whiskey-obsessed travel fanatic behind Whiskied Wanderlust, a whiskey and travel site based in Chicago. Midwest Grain Products bought the distillery in 2011, hence the current name. One of the massive fermentation tanks at MGP Distillery. Though not as sexy as barrels stored in a rickhouse, palletizing barrels makes more sense in term of volume able to be stored. He got to know Thompson Willett, owner of what is now Willett Distillery, while working as a glass decanter craftsman. MGP is the country's largest producer of rye whiskey and is known for producing some of the best. Upping the ante on bourbon is the Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Thanks to large online communities, there is not much that escapes their attention as they frequently call out companies to the TTB that are improperly labeling their products. Comparison Joint Review (Batch 9 vs Batch 13). The Lawrenceburg, Indiana facility is somewhat landlocked in the fact that the town grew around it, leaving no space for new warehouses to be built near their campus. The most publicized incident occurred under Pernod Ricards ownership as they began to sell rye whiskey to the Templeton Rye Whiskey brand based out of Templeton, Iowa. But ever since the switch to European sources was established, the consistency of the congener profile has allowed the rye whiskey coming out of Lawrenceburg to remain world class. George picked the Indiana spot for the underground aquifer that produces limestone-filtered water, giving his rye whiskey a pure, unique taste. Weve reviewed almost all of these products in the last year or so (see links below), but my tasting notes from that afternoon follow. But even with the cost savings being realized, Seagrams as a beverage producer was on uneasy legs as a company. LDI was listed for sale again, looking for its 4th owner in just over a decade. Seeing inside MGP Distillery in Indiana is like experiencing Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory. In no time at all, it was selling like hotcakes all across the Midwest. Right next door was Squibb, which opened in 1846 (though another distillery, Dunn and Ludlow, was on that patch of land in 1807) and became part of the Delaware company Schenley in 1933. It is not exactly known why the producers felt the need to develop a new category of whiskey, but production costs and the changing tastes of American drinkers (to lighter drinkers) were certainly at the forefront. Great water leads to great whiskey and every distillery needs lots of it. MGP distillery. For years it has focused on producing quality spirits for other brands and have enjoyed sitting just out of the glow of the intense spotlight that has been shining on the flourishing spirits industry in recent years. Taste the possibilities. Operating in Atchison, Kansas, and Lawrenceburg, Indiana, MGP began as a humble grainbelt distillery in 1941 and has since grown into a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits, and specialty wheat proteins and starches. After much research into this theory, there seems to be no change in the distillation process, grain sources, mashbills or aging techniques. It is a widely held belief among whiskey enthusiasts and Lawrenceburg, Indiana distillery workers that their whiskey has a sweet spot between 10 years old and 14 years old. Bathed in low lights with an energetic perspective on sound and presence. Go to Lawrenceburg, IN on Google maps. This release is a blend of 159 barrels, all aged five to seven years and bottled at 94 proof (47% ABV). Its absolutely beautiful. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Actually far from it. Whats up with that limestone-filtered water? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. They bottle their own under the Rossville Union label: Rossville Union Straight Rye and Barrel Proof. But there are many more similarities that continue to connect these two distilleries to this day. It makes quality products that make brands money and consumers happy. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The mashbill that was used for Light Whiskey is known to be 99% corn and 1% malted barley (Fun Fact #1: The Light Whiskey recipe is known internally as LJSS). The story of how 5 Crown and 7 Crown got their names is not because of how many different whiskey recipes went into the finished product, instead, they came about when Mr. Sam was presented with multiple varieties of blended whiskey to choose from. Just 6,000 bottles will be released of this, so hunt it down if you can and give it a try! An advantage to MGP now out of hiding is that it can release its own spirits, like its George Remus Repeal Reserve bourbon that launched last November. Its a way to put everything we have together at a nice reasonable price point, Master Blender David Whitmer explained. MGP Sourced Stuff; Alliance Series - Independent Bottles; Special Releases; We're Sorry It's Not Whiskey; . Starting in 2018, MGP decided to get in on its own action, launching an impressive portfolio of house brands that now include five whiskeys, as well as a vodka. They told me that, in addition to being the largest producer of rye whiskey in America, MGP is also the largest producer of gin, all of which is made for other customers. And even inside some of our questions were answered with a cheeky maaaaybe and a smile. Larry Ebersold, the Master Distiller for LDI, did depart with the company during this transition (and later went on to advise New Riff on how to run their distillery), but he left behind a fully trained mentor in the form of Greg Metze. Get Drinkhacker's top stories, exclusive goodies, and more! With a giant plant capacity, Pernod Ricard began to explore the market for all of the product they had in their warehouses. It makes for a more mellow whiskey. The palate is heavy with caramel, vanilla, and toffee notes with a bold rye spice and a hint of smoke. A large majority of the stock that remained were purchased through contract agreements with other smaller NDPs until no more unclaimed barrels remained in the warehouses. But all that changed in 2001 when Pernod-Ricard took over. This prevents automated programs from posting comments. And in 2016 MGP add their own brands to the mix. The company was sold to Pernod-Ricard and owned by them until 2007, when it was purchased by MGP. With such a long history of producing quality whiskies, its no wonder Lawrenceburg takes special pride in its nickname, Whiskey City., The former Seagrams distillery in Indiana, now the home to MGP (image via Prairie Rose/The Whiskey Wash). What is this place and why does it exist right here? Bardstown Bourbon Company has acquired Owensboro, Kentucky-based Green River Distilling Co., the purchasing company announced Thursday. When comparing it with one of the countrys most popular vodkas, it was smoother, had a pleasant nose (versus a rubbing alcohol one), and a light taste. While Indiana's neighbor directly to the south may get all of the American whiskey glory (ahem, Kentucky), the tiny town of Lawrenceburg has played an important role in American whiskey production for the past 200 years. But GNS must come off the still above 190 proof. Now in the past few years, MGP has begun to release a range of their own products. Beginning in 2023, the entire family of Daviess County Bourbon variants will be designated as Proud Partner of Ducks Unlimited. Just like that, the home of the Remus Bourbon and Rossville Union brands had a brand of its own. Executive Leadership; Board of Directors; Our Alcohol Experts; . Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. MGP produces different mash bills and different types of whiskey, some exclusively for certain clients, other opting to blend their own combination. But in Scotland, its the opposite. Master distiller Greg Metze is the most underrated distiller of our day. Whereas a majority of Kentucky warehouses were built out of wood, the warehouses at the Lawrenceburg distillery were all brick structures with concrete floors separating each level. So much of their quality, especially when it comes to their hallmark rye whiskey, is attributed to this limestone filtered, 56-degree water source just steps from the Ohio River. But the experience was absolutely incredible and I am insanely thankful for such a unique and memorable experience. Barrel entry for every standard MGP mashbill is 120 proof, but the company recently began allowing custom barrel entry proofs for its contract clients; part of a slew of changes they've made to compete with a growing number of contract distillers around the country. There seems to be a widely held rumor that the distillate has changed from what was being produced during the LDI days compared to what is being produced today under MGPI ownership. Turns out, yes! At the Lawrenceburg distillery (outside Cincinnati but on the border of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana) they mostly produce the aged products - whiskies- though they also do some gin and neutral spirits. MGPI swung open their doors and the barrels began to roll out. Seagrams began to invest large amounts of money into building up a modern-day distillery with enough capacity to satisfy the demands of not only a country coming out of Prohibition, but the world as well. But in a small pocket of Indiana, nestled next to Kentucky and Ohio along the Ohio River stands a large brick campus with the words Seagrams Since 1857 still spelled out in white bricks on the tops of the buildings that poke up across the hilly horizon. While theyre pretty tight-lipped on the subject, its a safe estimate that their whiskey has been labeled under more than 120 different brands, all of which should have the tell-tale Distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana on the label. All Rights Reserved. Distillery: MGP. the finest whiskeys, ryes, bourbons, gins and vodkas in the world. The Bamboo Club Presents World Cup Grand Finale Screening. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. 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