These products are fermented and distilled on site, aged on site or elsewhere, and bottled up as a zillion different brands on the marketplace. Even though their many rickhouses are slightly different from each other, all of them are designed so barrels age the same regardless of location within them. Whiskey aging at MGP (image via Prairie Rose/The Whiskey Wash). Copyright 2020 Kelli Nakagama. Will these metal clad warehouses eventually produce whiskey that strays away from the typical MGP profile? Even if you havent heard of MGP Distillery in Indiana, youve probably tasted whiskey from it. MGP Distillery's whiskey is all non-chill filtered and barreled at 120 proof (but the resulting bottling proofs vary). View an alternate. 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. Distillery Experiences Single Barrel Flight: Tasting Experience at the Distillery NEW! A lawsuit settled the amount of money that Templeton had to pay back to consumers due to their labeling lapse. Good luck! Just 6,000 bottles will be released of this, so hunt it down if you can and give it a try! The history of MGPs Lawrenceburg distillery officially dates to 1847 but some records indicate the distillery started as early as 1809. This includes around 80-85% of the market's rye, according to MGP estimates. Enjoy a Coastal New Years Eve Celebration at Fly N Fish Latin Jazz Gala A New Years Celebration, Cozy Up with Old Brea Chop Houses New Fall/Winter Cocktails. 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. Admission price and availability vary. Germany is a top producer of rye and their grain breeding programs are developed by local farmers and university researchers whereby they track key statistics like ferulic acid levels which is a huge help for any alcohol producer. Heres a closer look at MGP Distillerys whiskey brands. Samuels (or Mr. Sam as hed be remembered) first task was naming the plant the Jos. 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. Our tour of MGP's massive operation included a bit of a history lesson on the town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. For everyone else, they had to settle for the young distillate that MGP had only recently started to produce. 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. The vast majority of these are small, family-owned businesses. After aging, it undergoes charcoal mellowing and our unique aging process to create a truly one-of-a-kind whisky experience. Now in the past few years, MGP has begun to release a range of their own products. Purchase Info: This sample was provided by the producer for review purposes. MGP distillery. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Rossville Union rye and George Remus bourbon both have several bottles to their lineup (but more on those below). So why Germany? Schedule a Tour; FAQ; . But in Scotland, its the opposite. E. Seagram Distillery is one of the more fascinating pieces of history in modern-day bourbon lore. Green Bourbon and Rye (Shadow Beverage Group), James E. Pepper 1776 Bourbon & Rye (James E. Pepper/Strong Spirits), J.R. Revelry Bourbon (La Bodega Internacional/Speakeasy Spirits), Joint Bourbon (Temperance Distilling Co.), Joseph Magnus Bourbon (Jos. Is Heaven Hill distillery open? Posted by: 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. From the outside, its easy to see that one of the buildings has a concrete floor and (painted) brick/block walls. That's very convenient as in the hot summers the water is still cool to run through the condensers. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In the beginning, production was geared toward their two flagship whiskey products: Seagrams 5 Crown and 7 Crown. 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. This years, Series III, is a combination of two mash bills from the 2007 and 2008 vintages. Rossville Union rye whiskey is a blend of their 51% and 95% rye whiskey mashbill whiskeys aged about 5-6 years. I asked them how many mashbills they make in total. A lot like [Series] one but higher proof.. Drinkhacker was invited to one of these media days recently, so I got a chance to experience this proverbial Chocolate Factory first hand. The distillery was opened in 1847 , and has undergone such significant upgrades, expansions, and modifications over the years that little of the original remains. Review: Bookers Bourbon Kentucky Tea Batch 2022-03, Review: Makers Mark BRT-01 and BRT-02 2022 Limited Release, The Best Cherry Liqueur Roundup: 12 Bottles Tasted, 1 Winner, Review: Old Forester The 117 Series Extra Extra Old, The Best Chocolate Liqueur Roundup 10 Bottles Tasted, 2 Winners. 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. Simply put, whiskey distilled during LDIs ownership period is perceived as better because its older. Heres what I learned. Drop the little street level guy on Ridge Avenue and take a Google walk up the street and around to the side of the property. July 29, 2021 at 07:02 AM. The company was purchased by Seagram in 1933 and has changed hands a few times since then.</p> <p>The company makes most of the country's rye-based whiskeys, along with a wide range of other spirits . We visited just the one warehouse that was racked. We toured the facility, we met the team behind the spirits, and we dranka lot of whiskey! 57.7K subscribers What is MGP? 62.9% ABV. All of MGPs brands are made by a team of master blenders and master distillers who emphasize the team mentality of creating these spirits. Theres a reason why everyone from Bulleit and Templeton to WhistlePig and High West sources from MGP. Lets take a look at their similarities and differences in a broad scope: With all of this talk of rye, it is important to note that the most commonly used rye for whiskey products made at the Lawrenceburg, Indiana Distillery come from Germany while Polish, Swedish and Canadian rye are also used if it matches the profile that theyre looking for. Learn how your comment data is processed. Mashbill: 75% Corn 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley. This second release is at 100 proof, and MGP plans to keep future releases at that proof point. About David Whitmer With a background spanning nearly 30 years in the food and beverage industries, David Whitmer is a walking encyclopedia of the science, history and craft behind spirits and . La Casa del Caminos Comedor & the Rooftop Lounge Offer California-Inspired Citrus City Grille Reveals 2022 Christmas Eve Menu. The distillery was officially founded in 1847 by George Ross as Rossville Distillery, though they've found evidence that there has been distilling on the site going back to at least 1808. At the same time, they began pulling the curtain back on their distilling operations at the former Seagrams Distillery, inviting media to tour the facility and introducing the world to the first MGP products the company can actually talk about. Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI) is the former Seagrams distiller which was acquired by MGP in late 2011 forming MGPI. So although nobody from the 1930s is still around to say for sure, it is a very real possibility that the same bourbon and rye whiskey recipes were invented in the 1930s. Craft distilleries were now obtaining legal status to open across the US. The association between Four Roses and Jos. For those who like a higher proof, Rossville Union Barrel Proof adds to the high ABV group of MGP Distillerys whiskey collection. 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. 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. No ownership change is complete without a headache or two. Beginning in 2023, the entire family of Daviess County Bourbon variants will be designated as Proud Partner of Ducks Unlimited. It may never be known if the data influenced the management at MGPI to lean in one direction or another. In Kentucky, the alcohol percentage of whiskey goes up during maturation since the water evaporates faster than alcohol. You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Lots of oak, with cherry and caramel notes, with a little char, chocolate, and baking spice. Hi, I'm Kelli Nakagama, the whiskey-obsessed travel fanatic behind Whiskied Wanderlust, a whiskey and travel site based in Chicago. Most guests can visit about three bourbon distilleries per day. MGP whiskies were so sought after that any product aged for more than 10 years was guaranteed to sell out instantly and fetch huge premiums on the secondary marketplaces. However, it was not until many years later that it was discovered that Templeton Rye was actually distilled in Indiana. The truth is that these can fluctuate slightly with the amount of malted barley used (somewhere between 4% and 5% depending on beer density shifts). As the rest of the industry became more transparent over the last decade, MGP started to look more and more like Willy Wonka. Visit our Advanced Search page where you can filter and find any of our ratings and reviews from the last 15 years. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Its blended to profile, so there will be different proportions in each release. MGP's began life as the Rossville Union Distillery in 1847; after Prohibition, in 1933, it was purchased by the legendary Canadian company Seagram. 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. 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