[], Backbone Bourbon Uncut (Dep's 135 proof) Review | Bourbon Culture, [] Bourbon is a company located in Kentucky that sources MGP distillate (Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, Light Whiskey and Wheat Whiskey) and either barrels it in their own custom [], Chattanooga Whiskey Tennessee High Malt Review, [] reviews and are still sought after. Thanks for subscribing and watch for your first newsletter soon! The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. They make a range of different kinds of spirits, with a focus on a variety of types of whiskey . This website uses cookies to improve your experience. 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). 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. Both were a blended whiskey product, which meant that the whiskey inside was produced at more than one distillery and was made up of more than one mashbill before being blended together and bottled. 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. MGP already had a large distilling operation in Atchison, Kansas, but looked favorably upon its acquisition of an aged whiskey producing powerhouse. George Ross opened Rossville Distillery in 1847, making MGP one of Lawrenceburgs original distilleries and the only one still making whiskey. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Old Fourth Distillery was launched by five friends (two of whom are also brothers) in 2013 with the aid of a Kickstarter campaign. And getting the opportunity to taste my way through all of these while sitting next to them was unbelievably memorable! It should come as no surprise to learn that Four Roses also sources their rye primarily from Germany as well. The Omakase Room in Chicago is More Than a Meal, Its an Experience, 5 Incredible Facts About the Paris Opera House, The Flatiron Room Whiskey Bar in New York City, High West Distillery & Saloon in Park City, Utah - Whiskied Wanderlust, Behind the Scenes Tour of Jack Daniels Distillery | Whiskied Wanderlust, The Best Whiskey Distilleries Near Chicago - Whiskied Wanderlust, Touring High West Distillery in Wanship, Utah | Whiskied Wanderlust, 101: Legendary Master Distiller Greg Metze & Old Elk Distillery - The Bourbon Lens, The Ultimate Guide to Whisky in Edinburgh, 10 Days of Whisky and Wonders in Scotland. 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. Even the Tennessee distilleries have embraced the whiskey tourism. They provide bourbon, rye, and other spirits. From the outside, its easy to see that one of the buildings has a concrete floor and (painted) brick/block walls. Constellations High West and Belle Meade brands continue to have access to moderately aged rye whiskey and bourbon while Diageo-owned Cascade Hollow (George Dickel) and Bulleit Frontier Whiskey also use their buying power to keep the rye whiskey flowing. You may know them for their newly built Lux Row Distillery in Bardstown, KY. MGP reportedly paid $475M in cash and MGP stock value to Luxco. 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 facility is a bunch of brick buildings located on one site, like a campus with no student lawns or a really big depressing orphanage. Touring MGP Distillery is often compared to seeing inside Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory. 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. Weve reviewed almost all of these products in the last year or so (see links below), but my tasting notes from that afternoon follow. The sea of fermentors and the number of gallons of each one was hard to comprehend. Three generations of the Cray family later, weve certainly grown, but we still have those same family values. In early October, I received an exclusive invitation to peek behind the curtain of one of the most important distilleries in Americaand one of the most secretive. The association between Four Roses and Jos. Due to their strict quality requirements, any distillate that is considered low-quality or off-profile is ran through the still again to create a GNS out of it. This process results in a bold yet balanced profile dominated by fruit and nut notes. The rebranding efforts were announced with much fanfare to employees, suppliers, partners and the public. MGP Distillerys whiskey is all non-chill filtered and barreled at 120 proof (but the resulting bottling proofs vary). But to truly understand the modern-day history of the distillery at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, you must first look back to 1933. So far, most of the line of MGP spirits is available in about 13 states. 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. For the first time ever, MGPI would now have their bourbon bottled from barrels that the customers would hand-pick. Please try again. Nowadays, whiskey enthusiasts are much more savvy to the methods of reading labels and determining sources. Pre-1990s 7 Crown is believed to be a blend of whiskey recipes that consisted of the 4 primary recipes that were made at the Lawrenceburg, Indiana Distillery (more on those recipes later on) as well as various Kentucky distilleries and Canadian distilleries. Till Vodka This vodka is produced at the Atchison, Kansas distillery and made with locally sourced wheat. Details: Heaven Hill's wheated mash bill (68% corn, 20% Wheat, and 12% malted barley). Seagrams approach to aging their barrels of whiskey was different from the warehouses and rickhouses that stored bourbon for Kentucky distilleries. 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. We began the tour in the barrel-filling building where MGP can fill an impressive five barrels every 30 seconds. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. MGP Ingredients Distillery in Indiana - YouTube Instagram Story: Visit to MGP Ingredients Distillery in Indiana Instagram Story: Visit to MGP Ingredients Distillery in Indiana. 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. *Bourbon Culture is reader-supported. 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. 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Its like the Willy Wonka of whiskies! 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 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). I got lots of burnt sugar, caramel, and hints of dill, with cinnamon and chocolate. This series is 100 proof and, David explained, is a little sweeter than [Series] two. Only Seagrams knows which mashbills and which percentages of each recipe was blended into each batch, but in reality the batches were blended according to keeping a very consistent profile, so its likely that the exact percentages of each recipe fluctuated. With the technological advances of the 20th century being realized at everything from automobile manufacturing to computers, Seagrams found itself with the opportunity to lean out their production by becoming fully automated in 1998. The year was 2001 and the bourbon and rye whiskey boom still had not occurred. 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. Our tour of MGPs massive operation included a bit of a history lesson on the town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The limited editions are released on George Remus birthday on November 13th. The latest company information, including net asset values, performance, holding & sectors weighting, changes in voting rights, and directors and dealings. In the beginning, production was geared toward their two flagship whiskey products: Seagrams 5 Crown and 7 Crown. In the 1960s, Seagrams began to tinker with production of a new kind of distillate called Light Whiskey. They were not the only ones though, as Schenley Industries, National Distillers, American Distilling and Publicker Industries also began to experiment with light whiskey as well. View an alternate. No ownership change is complete without a headache or two. It soon became known as one of the best rye whiskeys available. 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. 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. While it has confidentiality agreements with its customers and does not disclose brand names, it is estimated that close to 130 different whiskey brands use MGP sourced whiskey. Get Drinkhacker's top stories, exclusive goodies, and more! Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog. The palate is heavy with caramel, vanilla, and toffee notes with a bold rye spice and a hint of smoke. Records indicate that distilling has occurred on the site for more than 200 years, beginning first in 1808. "We make a lot," came the definitive reply. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. 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.. Red brick industrial buildings, some outside tanks, a street called Shipping Street, and the Old Seagrams name on the side of a building. It may never be known if the data influenced the management at MGPI to lean in one direction or another. But all that changed in 2001 when Pernod-Ricard took over. And even inside some of our questions were answered with a cheeky maaaaybe and a smile. On the long walk back to the tasting room, I talked to David and Andy Mansinne, MGPs VP of Brands and the man in charge of their new products portfolio. To add insult to injury, the lawsuit also revealed to whiskey enthusiasts that Templeton took the rye whiskey and added an alcohol flavoring formulation made by Clarendon Flavor Engineers of Louisville, KY to achieve a specific flavor. Rossville Union, MGPs rye brand, is named after the original Lawrenceburg distillery, Rossville Distillery. From the get-go, its any oaky bruiser with a barrel char nose that carries through to the palate. 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. It was determined through much testing that a specific type of rye grown in Germany was producing the best mash for their yeast that would eventually lead to the best tasting distillate. Small batches of 10+ year aged bourbon and rye still pop up from time to time, but the truth of the matter was that every 10+ year old MGP bourbon that is released today has already been purchased years ago. George Remus Bourbon This is a blend of MGPs two high rye bourbon mashbills (21% and 36%, respectively). We toured the facility, we met the team behind the spirits, and we dranka lot of whiskey! This cold water source is the key to keeping fermentation under control and maintaining consistency. The palate is a tad sweet, but theres enough cinnamon spice and barrel notes to keep things more or less balanced. It is believed that modern day MGPI bourbon and rye whiskey recipes have been around since the beginning of Seagrams two iconic brands. This industrial-looking complex is home to the whiskey that is found in literally hundreds of different bottles nationwide. The nose is decently complex for a vodka, with minimal medicinal notes giving way to subtle aromas of lemon peel and licorice. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Yet there are no manicured grounds, no craft cocktail bar, no tours and no visitors allowed. The creamy palate has plenty of body for a good martini and is full of clean, vanilla notes that dissolve into a slight citrus finish. MGP is also one of the largest distilleries in the country. Companies like Traverse City, Blaum Bros, Litchfield, Bull Run, Chattanooga 1816, Boone County and Manifest all built early reputations on the backs of MGP barrels before running out and releasing their own products to their fan base. Before jumping into the history of the Pernod Ricard ownership era, it is important to look at the link between Seagrams ownership of both the Four Roses plant in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and the Seagrams plant at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It's more than 51% bourbon bottled at 44% ABV. But its outright mind-blowing when I realized that wasnt the only fermentation room! MGP continues the legacy as one of Lawrenceburgs original distilleries and the only one still producing whiskey. That's very convenient as in the hot summers the water is still cool to run through the condensers. About MGP > Our Company. They say that makes for a mellower whiskey. Fermentation takes about 3 days. 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? Therefore each level of the warehouse would remain more or less the same temperature. 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. Master Blender David Whitmer described the George Remus Straight Bourbon as high alcohol content with a lot of flavor.. The palate is rich and oily, and continues the classic trend with plenty of rye spice, vanilla, and clove. That is, until recently. The nose is significantly more aggressive than the standard rye, but not overwhelming and still nuanced with ginger and classic spice cabinet notes more typical of rye whiskey. Even at a distance, the red-brick stillhouse towers over a field of several rickhouses, which are themselves six stories tall and massive. Diageos long-term contract with Pernod Ricard to make these spirits kept the distillery in the black while also having the capacity to seek other brands to produce for. |. MGP Distillery is known or oftentimes, not known as the distillery behind some of the countrys most popular whiskey brands. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. "Eight and Sand" refers to a train going full-throttle (the eight) with added traction (sand on the tracks). Unlike most distilleries Ive been to, however, phones had to be turned off in this space, likely due to the secrecy concerns around whichever clients whiskey was being produced at that given moment. "Our strategy is to build out in all categories in which we distill," says Andy Mansinne, the vice president of brands. Whether you select the original, 95-rated Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the . The bottled-in-bond bourbon is a one-time release aged 14 years. We specialize in everything from old world to new world, organic & natural wines, whiskeys & scotches and everything else. In Kentucky, youre likely to hear about the importance of a barrels location in the rickhouse because it affects maturation. 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. But youll never find these early whiskies bottled in single barrel or small batch forms due to the fact they were all distilled and aged for the purpose of being blended into 7 Crown and 5 Crown products. July 29, 2021 at 01:00 PM. 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. Actually, I lied. Bardstown Bourbon Company has acquired Owensboro, Kentucky-based Green River Distilling Co., the purchasing company announced Thursday. Cost: The tour costs $8. 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