We imagined perfume being sprayed out of an antique art deco atomizer, very fruity and very floral with hints of gorse, orange oil, pear drops and linseed oil on new cricket bats. On the palate plenty of spice, nutmeg and cinnamon but at the same time the sweetness of Tonka bean ice cream with Scotch caramel swirl. Water released exotic wood notes, red currants, dried cranberries, root beer and maple syrup. To taste hazelnut and Tonka bean scones with strawberries and clotted cream. The mash bill for this rye whiskey consists of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, matured in a #4 char new oak barrel with #2 char heads.

About MGP

The history of MGP distillery has its roots in the emid-19th century, however it is best known for its association to Seagram, who purchased it at the close of Prohibition in 1933. Located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the distillery provided whiskey and grain neutral spirits for many of the Canadian distilling giants products for the rest of the 20th century. When an ill-advised move into the entertainment industry saw Seagram collapse in the early 2000s, much of their assets, including the Lawrenceburg distillery were bought up by Pernod-Ricard. They announced in 2006 that they intended to close it, however ended up selling it instead to a holding company in Trinidad called CL Financial. They renamed it LDI (Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana). It was not long however before the new owners would go bust as well, and the distillery was again sold, this time to MGP Ingredients, who renamed it in the process. The company produced and markets some of its own brands, but its main line of business is a huge contract-distilling operation. Among these are a number of well-regarded grain recipes, and several bourbons. Among its biggest customers are Diageo, and former owners, Pernod-Ricard, alongside a extensive list of independent boutique brands. Ask any bourbon enthusiast, and they’ll probably roll their eyes, scoff, or worse, get angry at any mention of MGP bourbon. You might even hear them passionately exclaim that it’s not “real” bourbon. MGP bourbon stands for Midwest Grain Products, an industry term used to describe mass-produced bourbon in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This distillery produces spirits for private labels to sell. It is said that the location distills most of the bourbon and rye whiskey available on the US market. These mass-produced bourbons are then bottled and sold as the brands’ own. About 50 different “craft” distilleries and bottling companies source their spirits from the Indiana-based distillery, with Diageo being its biggest customer today. MGP-style bourbon distilleries weren’t in play until the United States had a means of transportation effective enough to deliver the batches of spirits. Back when MGPs were virtually unheard of, the spirits in the country came directly from the person who distilled them. In the case of retailers, they got the supply in bulk from the distilleries themselves. The MGP distillery in Indiana was established in 1847 and was bought by Seagram in 1933. If you see the words “Distilled in Indiana” printed on the label of a bourbon bottle, this is a clear indication that the spirit had been sourced from MGP, even though the brand did not specifically disclose it. MGP can provide the yeast, grain, and barrels to make the spirit, or the client can bring their own. The distillery will then ship the barrels to the customer to age, dump and ship the juice itself, or dump and blend the juices. MGP carries various mash bills (more than a dozen) to cater to what the brand is looking for. Do you want a robust mash bill made from 60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and 4 percent malted barley? How about a smoother mash bill made from 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and 4 percent malted barley? The distillery’s most popular mash bill is the rye-heavy formula, with a whopping 95 percent. It is said that Bulleit Bourbon uses this mash bill.

Brands that use MGP

• Diageo
• Bardstown
• Bull Run
• Barrel Craft
• Litchfield
• Underdog
• Cadee
• George Dickel
• Prohibition Spirits
• James E. Pepper
• Temperance
• Brother's Bond