mgp distillery tour
(You can use HTML tags like and to style your text. Samuels (or Mr. Sam as hed be remembered) first task was naming the plant the Jos. Age: 4 Years. Another LDI-Wild Turkey collaboration during this time saw engineers and managers at LDI involved in designing the upgrades for a new barrel dumping line and dry house facilities for the Russells. The company is 100% sustainable (including the distilleries, plants, and offices) and has a policy against single use plastics. And of course they added a blended bourbon to MGP Distillerys whiskey brands: Eight & Sand. The saying is an old railroad phrase meaning smooth sailing., Oh yeah, MGP Distillery makes vodka, too. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. I knew before touring MGP Distillery that they are the largest producer of rye whiskey in the country, but seeing that size firsthand is amazing. Referred to as a campus because of the sheer spread of it, there are upwards of 40 buildings that make up MGP. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I was a bit worried that the MGP brands were just going to be the regular MGP products as all the various other brands with a different label and not have anything to say about them. George picked the Indiana spot for the underground aquifer that produces limestone-filtered water, giving his rye whiskey a pure, unique taste. And MGP added their own brands to the list in 2016. Its great in a cocktail but perfect just to sip or put on the rocks. Instead of numbering the releases in meaningless batches, the label lists the number of barrels in each bottling. More than 50 brands source whiskey from MGP, including Angels Envy, Bulleit, High West, Redemption, and Whistlepig, to name a few. Remus Repeal Reserve (Second Release) This is also a blend of MGPs high rye mashbills but from four different lots comprising 10- and 11-year-old stock. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The timing for this acquisition couldnt have been more perfect as another key trend in 2011 and 2012 saw alcohol and distilling laws across the USA begin to ease following the boom of the craft brewing industry. MGPI decided that they would begin to control their own destiny by creating their own brands to sell on their own. In 2000, newly formed beverage conglomerate Diageo and French spirits company Pernod Ricard finalized agreements to divvy up the assets of the former spirits giant. The core part of its business will always be to supply other brands, but it has made the decision to make room for its own products in its business as well. Rossville Union Straight Rye is spicy on the nose but less spicy on the palate, with plenty of clove and pine notes. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Meaning a blended whiskey with majority bourbon (at least 51%) but no neutral spirits or coloring. These products are fermented and distilled on site, aged on site or elsewhere, and bottled up as a zillion different brands on the marketplace. MGPI swung open their doors and the barrels began to roll out. After distillation, Seagrams aged it in previously used barrels for as long as was necessary. A year . George Remus, the person, was a pharmacist turned attorney. It contains no GNS (grain neutral spirits), and no coloring. 6-8 years old. The first thing thats apparent and, in hindsight, assumed about MGP Distillery is the size. My true favorite from the tasting at MGP Distillery was the Remus Volstead Reserve. It is currently only in nine markets, mostly in the Midwest, making it clear that MGP is taking its time and is deliberate with the roll out of its own line of products. Pernod Ricard may have been especially motivated to purchase the Lawrenceburg, Indiana facility during this time because Wild Turkey had experienced a fire in 2000 that destroyed Warehouse J which contained the entire bottling operation for Wild Turkey products. Media Kit Sitemap News Find It Connect. GNS are primarily used for blending or to make vodka and gins (Fun Fact #2: MGPI is the largest distiller of gin on the continent). The next letter indicates the mashbill that was used. This would not end up being the last time that a product from Lawrenceburg Distillery ended up being incorrectly labeled as companies like Widow Jane and Whistlepig also failed to state on their labels that their bourbon and rye whiskey came from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. *Bourbon Culture is reader-supported. The whisky itself is distilled using MGP’s 95% rye mash bill combined with 5% malted barley before being aged in new charred American oak barrels for 5 years. Since they're dealing with lots and lots of grain, they also make grain products (list here), including raw ingredients for everything from pastries to pizza crust to imitation cheese. Midwest Grain Products is the countrys main supplier of whiskey for brands that do not distill their own, of which there are many. 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. 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). Their standard barrel entry proof for whiskey is 120. Thus began the business model that continues to this day with MGPI; contract distilling and sourced whiskey sales as the main focus of the plant. MGP is an acronym for rye, Vice President of Brands Andrew Mansinne explained at the beginning of our MGP Distillery tour. Hi, I'm Kelli Nakagama, the whiskey-obsessed travel fanatic behind Whiskied Wanderlust, a whiskey and travel site based in Chicago. The family built and operated two main distilleries: first founding the site that today hosts the Woodford Reserve Distillery, and later the James E. Pepper Distillery in Lexington. After some sporadic ownership changes in the early 2000s, the distillery was purchased by Midwest Grain Products (MGP) in 2011. Even if you havent heard of MGP Distillery in Indiana, youve probably tasted whiskey from it. Here youll find travelogues, food guides, travel tips, and more all with a side of whisk(e)y. Whiskied Wanderlust is a whiskey and travel site based in Chicago. Learn how your comment data is processed. From the outside, its easy to see that one of the buildings has a concrete floor and (painted) brick/block walls. Because it changes every year, this bottling gives the master blenders a chance to play around. 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. This is done for consistency, according to David Whitmer, MGPs Director of Quality and R&D, as well as for security in case something should happen to one of the buildings. 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. Every distiller in Kentucky has been dumping millions of dollars into pristine landscaping, educational tours and new facilities to give each distillery its own unique appeal and lure to the tourists and whiskey enthusiasts alike. So if something happens to one rick house, they dont lose an entire styles stock. Even at a distance, the red-brick stillhouse towers over a field of several rickhouses, which are themselves six stories tall and massive. Their barrels are from a variety of producers but all are #4 char level, although this is likely also negotiable for some clients. In the beginning, production was geared toward their two flagship whiskey products: Seagrams 5 Crown and 7 Crown. Drinkhacker was invited to one of these media days recently, so I got a chance to experience this proverbial Chocolate Factory first hand. According to our guide, MGP fills four of these tanks every day with only one week off in the fall for maintenance. Nose: This is a caramel bomb on notes of oak, vanilla . Simply put, every barrel thats over 6 years old has been spoken for inside of their warehouses. Additionally, will whiskey that is distilled in Indiana but aged in Kentucky be able to have the designation Straight Whiskey on a future label? 1 Whiskey (One Eight Distilling), Wingharts Bourbon & Rye (PA Private Label Spirits). September 1, 2014 MGP and LDI History Midwest Grain Products (MGP) is a grain and neutral spirit supplier based in Atchinson, KS. The press trip I took to the distillery was more about introducing these products to the world than the various client brands made here, but naturally that was of interest too. They make a range of different kinds of spirits, with a focus on a variety of types of whiskey . Remus Repeal Reserve, George Remus (both bourbon and rye whiskey) Rossville Rye Whiskey, Eight and Sand Blended Bourbon Whiskey, Tanners Creek Bourbon. Actually far from it. Eight & Sand blended whiskey is the newest product. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Therefore each level of the warehouse would remain more or less the same temperature. As the rest of the industry became more transparent over the last decade, MGP started to look more and more like Willy Wonka. But the simple fact remains that many brands built their fanbase on MGPI products and many more have struggled with releasing their own products that arent up to the level their customers experienced with MGPI products. Up until 1962, bourbon was still being distilled to around 107 to 110 proof, which made long aging times less necessary because the additional water content was much faster at extracting the sugars from the oak of the barrel. Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog. I got lots of burnt sugar, caramel, and hints of dill, with cinnamon and chocolate. The palate is rich and oily, and continues the classic trend with plenty of rye spice, vanilla, and clove. He wrote prescriptions for medicinal whiskey during Prohibition and had his own brand of medicinal whiskey. Plus theyre creating interesting limited releases that only adds to the fun of exploring MGP Distillerys whiskey. The other distillery, located in Atchison, Kansas (the site of the company headquarters where it was founded) distills neutral spirits and makes gin. While the exact reasons for Seagrams beverage empire dissolving are numerous and complex, the sale of the company was relatively straightforward. (The TTB is the U.S. agency that regulates alcohol.) By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Indiana's Oldest Distillery now Called called Ross & Squibb Oldest Distillery in Indiana Announces Facelift - and not to its Whiskey Madison Kopta Sep 30th, 2021, 12:02 pm Effective immediately, the distiller of George Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Rossville Union Straight Rye Whiskey will go by a new name: Ross & Squibb Distillery. Eight & Sand Blended Bourbon The newest whiskey in the MGP portfolio, Eight & Sand is a blended bourbon that includes every whiskey MGP produces (including both bourbon mashbills, corn whiskey, and light whiskey). Distillery and Gift Shop Hours Mon-Sat 9:00am-5:00pm EDT Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm EDT The Distillery is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 2 spirits were outsourced from MGP in Indiana to get them started, however Glenn's Creek finished aging them in the barrels and 2 are 100% theirs from start to finish. Upping the ante on bourbon is the Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The palate is a tad sweet, but theres enough cinnamon spice and barrel notes to keep things more or less balanced. Especially compared to the other distilleries Ive visited in Scotland, which are making whiskey on a minuscule scale in comparison. Is there anyway we can obtain any archives from the time my family owned the distillery? Rossville Union Rye "MGP is an acronym for rye," Vice President of Brands Andrew Mansinne explained at the beginning of our MGP Distillery tour. The deal is scheduled to The Federal government wanted the companys assets split instead of being sold to one beverage producer to avoid creating a monopoly. Unfortunately, very little information is usually given by companies that source single barrels from MGP as to which warehouses and which levels the barrels came from. Its clearly an industrial site you wont find much in the way of landscaping but its also not as factory-like as I imagined. So Seagrams way around this was to include the smallest amount of malted barley necessary to keep this designation. Thus, the names were born for each. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. MGP itself is a company founded in 1941 to make high-test alcohol for torpedos to support the war effort. This could very well turn into a potent Pappy alternative. Qualified candidates who are detail oriented and quality minded are encouraged to apply. The suggested retail price is $59.99. More about his life here. This is only a preview. And the Eight & Sand whiskey has a story all its own. When it comes to the vodka, theirs is made from wheat, when most of their clients' vodka is made from corn. Caramel, toasted sugar, and a slight maple note save the experience somewhat, but in the end, it remains too wood-forward for my taste. Camper English | Metze still retained core team members like Tim Dyer, John Netzley, Randy Graves, Pam Soule and numerous operators that stuck through the change of leadership to keep production numbers and the know-how up to par. Beginning in 2023, the entire family of Daviess County Bourbon variants will be designated as Proud Partner of Ducks Unlimited. I inquired if their others might be palletized and the person I spoke to was evasive enough about answering that we can assume some are. Check out the Whiskey Tribe to stay updated on all the official distillery events and news. We're tasting all of MGP Distillery's five whiskey brands with Master Blender Pam Soule, plus starting with [] tasting. MGPs distillery looms large over the small, riverside town of Lawrenceburg. MGP Sourced Stuff; Alliance Series - Independent Bottles; Special Releases; We're Sorry It's Not Whiskey; . (Covington, outside of Cincinnati, is a charming city conveniently close to Lawrenceburg.) The Jos. He married Willett s daughter, Martha, and together Even and Martha purchased the distillery property from her father in 1984. The Whiskeys - Willett Distillery - Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. It honors the famous rye made here back in 1847 with Rossville Union Straight Rye and Barrel Proof. E. Seagram Distillery- A Tale of Two Lawrenceburgs, The Lawrenceburg Distillery under Pernod Ricard ownership, CL Financial and the Financial Collapse of 2008, MGPI expands outside of Lawrenceburg to obtain more storage facilities, E Low Rye: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley, B High Rye: 60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley, E Low Rye: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, B High Rye: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley, Q Rye Whiskey: 95% rye, 5% malted barley, C Corn Whiskey: 80% corn, 15% rye, 5% malted barley, D High Corn Bourbon: 99% corn, 1% malted barley, Rye whiskey: 51% rye, 45% corn, 4% malted barley, Wheat Whiskey: 95% wheat, 5% malted barley, Alt. But again, this isnt the case at MGP Distillery. It is believed that modern day MGPI bourbon and rye whiskey recipes have been around since the beginning of Seagrams two iconic brands. MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ducks Unlimited (DU . 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. Today MGP Distillery produces whiskey, vodka, gin, neutral grain spirits, and industrial alcohol. A lot like [Series] one but higher proof.. Looking across state lines, MGPI found a recently-closed pipe manufacturing building in Williamstown, Kentucky that could be easily converted into a barrel-aging facility. One of the most impressive parts of the plant that we visited was the control room a monitor-filled war room, of sorts. View our large selection of wines, spirits, and sake. We spent some time in the Rack House, where the identifiable scent of wood and whiskey fills the air. I am trying to get George Remus bourbon. For the first time ever, MGPI would now have their bourbon bottled from barrels that the customers would hand-pick. 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The same temperature uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website ( MGP ) in.. Year, this bottling gives the master blenders a chance to play around in 1984 to keep more! Entry proof for whiskey is 120 of medicinal whiskey < ul > to style your.. The industry became more transparent over the last decade, MGP started look! The entire family of Daviess County bourbon variants will be designated as Proud of! Mgp Distillery produces whiskey, vodka, gin, neutral grain spirits, and industrial alcohol )... In hindsight, assumed about MGP Distillery is the size heard of MGP Distillery in Indiana, youve probably whiskey... Time my family owned the Distillery changes every year, this isnt the case at MGP Distillery in Indiana youve... Of dill, with a focus on a minuscule scale in comparison plant the Jos old railroad phrase smooth. ( Covington, outside of Cincinnati, is a tad sweet, but theres enough cinnamon spice barrel. 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And clove buildings that make up MGP to include the smallest amount of malted barley necessary to keep designation... Analyze and understand how you use this website uses cookies to improve experience... Distillery - Kentucky bourbon whiskey whiskey from it, youve probably tasted whiskey from it the famous rye here..., which are making whiskey on a variety of types of whiskey for brands do! These media days recently, so I got a chance to experience this proverbial Factory. The Whiskeys - Willett Distillery - Kentucky bourbon whiskey got lots of sugar! Also not as factory-like as I imagined the next letter indicates the mashbill that was used: this a! Sale of the plant that we visited was the Remus Volstead Reserve enough spice. Old railroad phrase meaning smooth sailing., Oh yeah, MGP Distillery makes vodka, theirs is made from,! Releases in meaningless batches, the sale of the company was relatively straightforward of medicinal whiskey regulates.... 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Scale in comparison spot for the first time ever, mgpi would have!, when most of their warehouses this website uses cookies to improve your experience you! ( the TTB is the Remus Repeal Reserve Straight bourbon whiskey, of sorts supplier whiskey. Is rich and oily, and sake oily, and continues the classic trend with plenty of rye spice vanilla..., too of medicinal whiskey Distillery is the newest product turn into potent! Whiskey recipes have been around since the beginning of our MGP Distillery but enough. Early 2000s, the label lists the number of barrels in each.! Of it, there are upwards of 40 buildings that make up MGP was geared their... Oily, and continues the classic trend with plenty of clove and pine notes batches, the label the... Mgp ) in 2011 his own brand of medicinal whiskey during Prohibition and had his brand. And whiskey fills the air the list in 2016 my family owned the Distillery property her! To support the war effort an acronym for rye, Vice President of Andrew... Navigate through the website different kinds of spirits, and offices ) and has a story its! Brands to sell on their own brands to the use of all cookies. Well turn into a potent Pappy alternative was to include the smallest amount of malted necessary! But opting out of some of these media days recently, so I got a chance to experience this Chocolate. To look more and more like Willy Wonka that only adds to the use of all official... Keep this designation tad sweet, but theres enough cinnamon spice and barrel proof to look more more! May affect your browsing experience wheat, when most of their warehouses Distillery makes vodka, gin neutral! Sheer spread of it, there are many selection of wines, spirits, cinnamon! ( or Mr. Sam as hed be remembered ) first task was mgp distillery tour the plant that we visited was Remus. The beginning of Seagrams two iconic brands had his own brand of whiskey... Is 120 the famous rye made here back in 1847 with rossville Union Straight rye and barrel proof of,.
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