It gets immediate feedback from client brands about what is selling across the country. The largest vodka distillery in the United States is located in Portland, Oregon.. One of the most impressive parts of the plant that we visited was the control room a monitor-filled war room, of sorts. 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 growing bourbon and whiskey trend in the US is experiencing a renaissance much like the wine and craft beer explosions of the 90s and 00s. The workers at MGPI commonly refer to this building as Iron Clad. What kind of experiments could this building have been used for seeing as how all of the traditional warehouses were concrete floors with brick walls? Nose: This is a caramel bomb on notes of oak, vanilla . With many Americans out of jobs or with no discretionary income, alcohol producers joined many other industries in a freefall. It should come as no surprise to learn that Four Roses also sources their rye primarily from Germany as well. The aging barrels are stacked vertically, one upon the other, in imposing towers above our heads. They are currently available in 14 states with hopes to eventually reach the entire United States. Most consumers believed that this product was distilled in Iowa. But MGP knew that they could blend a bourbon that would be worthy of drinking, so they created a legal definition with the TTB. Robb Report was recently able to tour the . Thanks for subscribing and watch for your first newsletter soon! Light Whiskey should not be confused with Grain Neutral Spirits (GNS), which is another product that the Lawrenceburg Distillery makes a lot of. Foundry Distilling Continues Brewery Collaborations WIth Sixth Glass Whiskey, You Can Now Livestream From A Whiskey Barrel. Lawrenceburg, Indianas location right on the Ohio River provides easy and cheap transportation channels to move products up and down the Mississippi River to the East Coast, it also sets above a massive underground limestone shelf that spans across much of the state of Kentucky and provides the water necessary to make a great whiskey. That the distillery is so automated, just six people can run the entire place! The race was on to find facilities that fit the general profile of the kind of structures that MGP was already using. In 2006, Templeton Rye began to sell a rye whiskey with the words Small Batch and Prohibition Era Recipe on the front of their bottle. By purchasing this report or a membership, you can unlock the average company . It does not store any personal data. Metzes Select was a limited release (6,000 bottles) of 3 different bourbons of various ages and mashbills that was bottled at a rather mild 93 proof. Rossville Union, MGPs rye brand, is named after the original Lawrenceburg distillery, Rossville Distillery. View an alternate. Today MGP Distillery produces whiskey, vodka, gin, neutral grain spirits, and industrial alcohol. Distillery: MGP. This could very well turn into a potent Pappy alternative. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Bardstown Bourbon Company has acquired Owensboro, Kentucky-based Green River Distilling Co., the purchasing company announced Thursday. (The Lawrenceburg distillery, pics from MGP), (The Atchison distillery that I did not visit. It may never be known if the data influenced the management at MGPI to lean in one direction or another. The palate is honeyed and spicy, showing lots of baking spice and a little dried fruit. For example: a recipe that would be called OESV at Four Roses would actually be called LESV if it was distilled at the Indiana distillery. Most of their clients, according to Andy, are buying a single mashbill. What is this place and why does it exist right here? Old Fourth Distillery was launched by five friends (two of whom are also brothers) in 2013 with the aid of a Kickstarter campaign. Sweet and well-rounded, it was incredibly smooth especially considering its 100 proof. Four Roses rounds down their low and high rye bourbon mashbill to 20% rye for E mashbills and 35% for B mashbills whereas MGPIs ryed bourbon mashbills are often quoted as 21% for E mashbills and 36% for the B.. The other warehouse appears to be metal clad. Who was working these barrels and whose whiskey is this? Rossville Union rye whiskey is a blend of their 51% and 95% rye whiskey mashbill whiskeys aged about 5-6 years. So launching its own line of brands makes sense. Through much research, the exact year that these iconic whiskey mashbills were first developed is unknown, but we do know that as far back as 1966, when Jim Rutledge first began working for Seagrams, that these recipes existed. That unknown was soon answered with a resounding thud of the worldwide recession that hit in 2008. George Remus, the person, was a pharmacist turned attorney. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. They're moving systematically rather than hitting the whole country at once. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. 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. Companies started to trickle in as America and the world were slowly changing their preferences to more unique and complex tastes thanks to a robust food and cocktail culture that was ignited by various internet platforms. He makes most of the rye whiskey in this country, but receives little credit. One can assume it may be coming from the same producers. The reception to this release was so positive that it spawned the release of 5 new whiskey products over the next 3 years. Its like the Willy Wonka of whiskies! MGP Distillery Whiskey Tasting with Master Blender Pam Soule . Red brick industrial buildings, some outside tanks, a street called Shipping Street, and the Old Seagrams name on the side of a building. Is Heaven Hill distillery open? Common complaints seem to stem from whiskey fans saying that MGPI prices their barrels out of reach or that they have to buy millions of dollars of products before they have access to the best aged barrels. However, it was not until many years later that it was discovered that Templeton Rye was actually distilled in Indiana. MGPI was a giant conglomeration of food producers in the United States at the time of the Lawrenceburg Distillery acquisition. 6-8 years old. Founded in 1847, MGP, or Midwest Grain Products, is a distillery located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. MGP Sourced Stuff; Alliance Series - Independent Bottles; Special Releases; We're Sorry It's Not Whiskey; . They provide bourbon, rye, and other spirits. "We make a lot," came the definitive reply. Its no surprise the distillery synonymous with rye makes bourbon with a high rye content and a very rye-esque flavor. MGP doesnt talk about which brands they have a hand in, but it doesnt take much detective work to figure it out. The company has a four-barrel minimum for whiskey, or one tote for new distillate for whiskeys, gins, or grain neutral spirits. The high proof that Light Whiskey was being distilled at stripped away much of the body and character and left behind a very light tasting spirit. Atlanta's first legal distillery since 1906, Old Fourth . Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Also present is the code 10 K 16 which likely stands . Michael stokes | I live in Naples Florida I need help getting this, Posted by: At some point in the early 70s, Seagrams along with the other distillers, approached the TTB about officially creating the category of Light Whiskey along with its production standards and received an approval for it. He was known as "King of the Bootleggers" and may have been the inspiration for Jay Gatsby. Master distiller Greg Metze is the most underrated distiller of our day. Its surprisingly approachable at cask strength and even better than the standard offering. Their company owns Angel's Envy, Bulleit, High West, Redemption, and Whistlepig Whiskey, among other brands. It makes for a more mellow whiskey. By time the bleeding had stopped and the economy began to heal, CL Financial was ruined. Our tour of MGPs massive operation included a bit of a history lesson on the town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He ended up selecting the 5th profile variety and the 7th profile variety as the ones that Seagrams would produce. They also make a ton of bourbon and neutral spirit used for vodka and gin. Samples: I got to try all 4 of their selections. Hi, I'm Kelli Nakagama, the whiskey-obsessed travel fanatic behind Whiskied Wanderlust, a whiskey and travel site based in Chicago. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. They make a range of different kinds of spirits, with a focus on a variety of types of whiskey . And of course they added a blended bourbon to MGP Distillerys whiskey brands: Eight & Sand. Yet there are no manicured grounds, no craft cocktail bar, no tours and no visitors allowed. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. From the outside, its easy to see that one of the buildings has a concrete floor and (painted) brick/block walls. Kentucky bourbon distilleries are located east and south of Louisville. Check out the Whiskey Tribe to stay updated on all the official distillery events and news. 62.9% ABV. As most of you nerds already know, most of the rye whiskey produced in the US is made at MGP Ingredients, aka Midwest Grain Products. Though not as sexy as barrels stored in a rickhouse, palletizing barrels makes more sense in term of volume able to be stored. They may have also been instructed to include warehouses with metal walls on their list as well. MGP does not give tours of its facility they are extremely tightlipped about the details around their smaller craft brand partners and photography is strictly prohibited inside much of the plant. 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. MGP's began life as the Rossville Union Distillery in 1847; after Prohibition, in 1933, it was purchased by the legendary Canadian company Seagram. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Will you still recognize youre drinking a whiskey that came from Indiana? Meaning a blended whiskey with majority bourbon (at least 51%) but no neutral spirits or coloring. By analyzing these levels, it helps to zero in on specific ferulic acid and arabinoxylan percentages that will give them the best efficiency for their production. Whether were collaborating with each other or with our customers, we take pride in our craft and refuse to settle for anything less than exceptional. All of it is aged 6-7 years, with the light whiskey being up in the eights., At 88 proof, its made for cocktails, but David confessed its great for cooking. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. *Bourbon Culture is reader-supported. This release is a blend of 159 barrels, all aged five to seven years and bottled at 94 proof (47% ABV). Its another one great by itself or in a cocktail. An assumption is that the effects of barrel aging in regards to the highly conductive metal walls were studied (ala Warehouse H at Buffalo Trace). The MGP team is clearly honored to be one of the leading distillers in the country and a force in the rye whiskey boom around the world. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Peeling back the curtain reveals that the Four Roses and the Lawrenceburg, Indiana Distillery still utilize the same recipe abbreviations that were invented during the Seagrams era. To include warehouses with metal walls on their list as well a concrete and! Painted ) brick/block walls distillery whiskey Tasting with Master Blender Pam Soule town of Lawrenceburg Indiana! In your browser only with your consent a rickhouse, palletizing barrels makes more sense in term volume... Came from Indiana that I did not visit include warehouses with metal walls on their list well... Alcohol producers joined many other industries in a cocktail kinds of spirits, with a resounding of! 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