More About MGP

In bourbon country, it's rare for a distillery to launch a new recipe, so to launch six at once--as MGP will do this month--is unprecedented. How do you do it? Here is an explanation from Don Coffey, Ph.D., MGP’s Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation.

"MGP’s development of the new mash bills was initiated in response to customer interest combined with our desire to provide a broader selection of specially-made premium whiskeys and bourbons," said Dr. Coffey. The announcement earlier this week, that MGP will begin to make six new mash bills at its Lawrenceburg, Indiana, distillery, is the first new products announcement since MGP bought the distillery in 2011. "This expanded portfolio of product offerings enables our customers to further distinguish their brands while satisfying a growing diversity of consumer preferences and tastes," said Coffey.

The development phase required planning and teamwork among various personnel and departments, including research, development and innovation, sales and marketing, operations, sourcing and logistics, and the master distiller in Lawrenceburg, Greg Metze.

"In preparation for actual production runs, and to make certain the mash bills possessed the distinct qualities being sought, each was piloted and thoroughly checked in a laboratory setting," Dr. Coffey explained. "Scale-ups are planned to occur throughout April. However, production of the six mash bill additions will not be launched simultaneously, but are scheduled at different intervals during the month."

They have already started, with the new rye whiskey made from 51% rye and 49% barley malt.

"At this time, precise dates and the order of preference have not been assigned to production scale-ups for the remaining five mash bill formulations," said Coffey. "To make this determination requires that a number of variables, including maintaining optimum production scheduling efficiencies for all of our products, undergo thorough consideration so as not to disrupt operations as a whole, as well as our ability to effectively and consistently supply ongoing customer needs."

MGP, which sells no brands of its own, makes distilled spirits for a wide range of customers, from Diageo (the world's largest drinks company) to many of today's new micro-producers. In addition to whiskey, MGP is the largest gin producer in the U.S., and also makes vodka.

And here's a note about MGP of Indiana's two current bourbons, which they universally refer to as "25% bourbon" and "40% bourbon." Turns out, that's not the rye percentage, it's the total percentage of small grains, i.e., the percentage of the mash bill that's not corn. The mashbill for the 25% bourbon is 75/21/4 and the mashbill for the 40% bourbon is 60/36/4. I regret any confusion this may have caused and I hope they do too. (It's a weird way to state it.)

MGP Adds Six New Whiskey Recipes to Lawrenceburg Distillery's Portfolio

In the current issue of The Bourbon Country Reader (Vol 15 No 2), MGP Vice President of Alcohol Sales and Marketing David Dykstra talks about his company's future plans for whiskey production at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. In that interview, he says they are "developing new mash bill formulations of rye, wheat and other grains that we expect to introduce to the marketplace in the coming years."

Six of them were announced yesterday and will begin production this month.

They are:

• Two new rye whiskeys, one made from 51% rye and 49% barley malt, and the other made with 51% rye, 45% corn and 4% barley malt.


• A 95% wheat whiskey.


• A 100% barley malt whiskey.


• Two new bourbons, one produced with 45% wheat, and the other produced with 49% barley malt.

Currently, MGP of Indiana makes a very popular 95% rye whiskey, and two rye-recipe bourbons that contain 40% rye and 25% rye, respectively. They also make corn whiskey.

“The incorporation of these additional mash bills in our product offerings is driven by our commitment and ability to satisfy a growing and diversified mix of customer needs,” said Dykstra. “It enables us to provide those we serve with a wider, more distinctive selection of world-class beverage alcohol options. Furthermore, it reflects our ongoing focus on innovation while also demonstrating our capabilities to produce customized formulations.”

Development of the new mash bills was initiated by the company’s beverage alcohol sales team, with collaboration from MGP’s research, development and innovation group and Greg Metze, master distiller at the Lawrenceburg facility.

According to Dykstra, the company’s new wheat whiskey and wheat bourbon “will be among some of the more unique products of their type” in the marketplace. “The popularity of wheat-based spirits, mainly in the white goods category, has grown in recent years,” he said. “We expect this to favorably impact demand for products in the brown goods category, as well, and want to be firmly positioned to help our customers in the branded packaged goods arena meet that demand.”

Dykstra says the company’s new rye whiskey produced from 51% rye and 49% barley malt is expected to deliver a deeper flavor than traditional rye whiskey, resulting in opportunities for customers to establish and market novel brands that possess a distinctly satisfying point of difference. 

Additional details regarding each of the recently developed mash bills, along with MGP’s custom formulation capabilities and complete lines of premium whiskeys, bourbons, grain neutral spirits (i.e., vodka) and distilled gins, are available at the company’s booth at the American Distilling Institute (ADI) Spirits Conference and Expo in Denver through April 4 of this week.

Information can also be obtained by accessing the company’s website.

The former Seagram's Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, was acquired by MGP in 2011. Previously known as LDI (Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana), the distillery has been supplying whiskey to non-distiller producers since about 2005. MGP is a leading independent supplier of premium spirits, offering flavor innovations and custom distillery blends to the beverage alcohol industry. The company also produces high quality food grade industrial alcohol and formulates grain-based starches and proteins into nutritional and highly functional ingredients for the branded consumer packaged goods industry. The company is headquartered in Atchison, Kansas.

More News About that Distillery in Indiana.

About a year ago, after MGP bought the former Seagram's Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, whispering began that they were going to exit the bulk whiskey business and concentrate on contract distilling exclusively.

The distinction is that with bulk sales, the customer purchases aged whiskey that is ready to sell. With contract, you pay the distillery to distill and make whiskey on your behalf, which won't be ready to sell for several years. They're two very different business models.

"There is no foundation whatsoever to any rumors or speculation that MGP is withdrawing from the bulk whiskey market," says David Dykstra, MGP's Vice President of Alcohol Sales & Marketing. "We are investing heavily in rebuilding the whiskey stocks that were depleted under prior ownership of the facility. MGP intends to be in the bulk whiskey market for both the near term and longer term."

If anything, they're going in deeper. "MGP is developing new mash bill formulations of rye, wheat and other grains that we expect to introduce to the marketplace in the coming years, as product innovation is a key component of our efforts to help customers continue to grow their distinctive brands."

Bulk whiskey from that distillery has been responsible for such brands as Templeton Rye, Smooth Ambler Very Old Scout Bourbon and Rye, High West Rendezvous Rye, Redemption Bourbon and Rye, Wm. H. Harrison bourbon, Chattanooga whiskey, and a host of others.

No doubt those micro-producers are relieved to hear what MGP intends, but bulk whiskey pickings will be slim for the next few years, especially for well-aged whiskey because the previous owner laid down very little near the end.

Many bourbon enthusiasts have wondered if MGP plans to develop and market its own whiskey brands, or continue exclusively as a commodity producer. Lawrenceburg is the only pure commodity whiskey producer in the U.S.

"We have no plans at this time to develop or purchase any branded whiskeys or other products," says Dykstra. "However, we remain open to evaluating market opportunities if any such possibilities should warrant our interest."

And what about tours? There have been distilleries on that site since about 1860, though most of what is there now was built by Seagram's in the 1930s. "MGP plans to begin tours at some point over the next 18 months," says Dykstra. "We currently are working on details to ensure the tours provide a highly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience for those who visit our Lawrenceburg facility."

One huge change has already taken effect, the new owners answer questions.

Indiana Distillery Is Crucial To MGPI's Success.

The distillery in Greendale, Indiana, continues to interest whiskey enthusiasts, who know it for such products as Bulleit Rye, Templeton Rye, Redemption Rye, George Dickel Rye, Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon and Rye, Redemption Bourbon, New Holland Beer Barrel Bourbon, Wm. H. Harrison bourbon, Chattanooga whiskey, and others.

The distillery is now owned by MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) which, as a publicly-owned company, is much more transparent about its operations than was the previous owner.

In the company's report of third quarter 2012 results, released yesterday, the lead headline says a "strong contribution" from the Indiana distillery "offset a reduction in sales for lower-value industrial applications."

"The decline in industrial sales for the quarter was substantially offset by growth in our premium spirits," said Tim Newkirk, President and Chief Executive Officer. "So, while our third quarter alcohol sales were relatively flat, our profit profile actually improved due to a stronger contribution from beverages.”

The report further explains that "post-acquisition progress continues at the Indiana distillery. Production rates have more than doubled since the company assumed ownership in December 2011. Capital improvements and cost reduction programs, including a switch to natural gas, are expected to further increase manufacturing capacity at a lower cost per unit."

“We’ve made great inroads with our line of premium spirits this year," said Newkirk, "despite the fact that most of the important year-end order activity for 2012 took place before we acquired the facility. Our new beverage sales team is encouraged by the high level of interest among our key customers.”

Whiskey enthusiasts in particular want to know MGPI's plans for Indiana going forward, to which Newkirk offers this tantalizing clue. "In premium spirits we’re pursuing beverage innovations, including new mash bills, flavor extensions, and barrel aging techniques."