What Does ‘MGP’ Mean in American Whiskey?
There are a lot of big names in whiskey. From heritage producers like Jim Beam and Buffalo Trace to relative newcomers like Bardstown Bourbon and Angel’s Envy, multiple bourbon and rye brands have household name recognition. But you may not know the industry titan comparable in size to these distilling powerhouses supplying — sometimes quietly — hundreds of American whiskey brands. That giant is MGP Ingredients, Inc.
Established by Cloud L. Cray Sr. in Atchison, Kan., in 1941, MGP (short for Midwestern Grain Products) started off as a small distilling operation focused on producing grain neutral spirits for independent bottlers during World War II. After the war, the company expanded to provide partners with various food ingredients such as wheat and pea proteins, but it wasn’t until 2011 that it added whiskey distillation to its offerings.
Seventy years after the company’s founding, MGP acquired the former Seagram Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ind. — a move that altered the course of American whiskey history and allowed MGP to quickly become the backbone of the industry. The historic site was opened in 1847 as the Rossville Distillery and was purchased by Seagram in 1933. Seagram then worked to rebuild the facility in the post-Prohibition era. In that period, the distillery produced brands like Seagram’s Seven and Seagram’s Gin and served as the birthplace of the now-famous 95/5 rye mash bill, a recipe that later became integral to MGP’s production.
Sadly, disastrous decision-making in the late 20th century brought things to a screeching halt. In 1995, Seagram sold its 25 percent stake in DuPont back to the company and used the money to purchase MCA Inc. (Universal Studios). It was a failed attempt to transform Seagram from a beverage company into a media conglomerate and resulted in the complete dissolution of the company with assets sold off piecemeal. As a result, the fate of the historic Lawrenceburg facility hung in the balance for years as the distillery continued to change hands.
That went on until 2011 when MGP acquired the distillery for $11 million. The purchase didn’t just encompass the facility’s alcohol fermentation and distillation operations, including the fully functioning stills, but also all of the maturing whiskey in the stocked rickhouses, the blending operation, and the tank farm, allowing MGP to immediately break into the whiskey space via sourced spirits and contract distillation.
The acquisition of the distillery didn’t merely allow MGP to expand operations, it let hundreds of emerging American whiskey brands actually go to market. Considering whiskey needs to age for a certain period of time before it can be bottled, new craft operations distilling their own products have to sit on stock for years without making any money. Sourcing from MGP provides a solution.
Rather than wait to see any returns, producers can purchase fresh distillate or matured whiskey from MGP, which distills according to the purchasing company’s recipes. Contract distilling is also an option for non-distilling partners (NDP), which, instead of crafting their own blends, have MGP distill whiskey in accordance to a custom recipe. From there, brands then bottle the finished product under their own labels and market it to the public, so you’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of MPG or even seen it noted on a label.
While some brands are forthcoming about the source of their bourbon or rye, others are much more hush-hush about it, often hinting that their whiskey was MGP-distilled with the more subtle “Distilled in Indiana.”
Another tell that could immediately alert whiskey lovers that a bottle of rye is MGP-produced is the famous 95/5 mash bill, which features 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley. Known for its punchy rye flavor, the formulation skyrocketed in popularity and became a preferred choice for many NDPs. In turn, it began to signal that a bottle was produced in Indiana by the team at MGP, regardless of what the label said. For example, the “Iowa-made” Templeton Rye features the 95/5 blend, which alerts consumers to the fact that it’s an Indiana-distilled product. The same is true for West Virginia’s Smooth Ambler Old Scout and Kentucky’s Bulleit Rye Frontier Whiskey — the 95/5 split is a dead giveaway. The mash bill is now more widely used throughout the industry, but it might always be known as an MGP signature.
MGP doesn’t just distill whiskey for sourced or contracted distilling purposes, though. The company also distills bourbon and rye for a number of its own labels, including George Remus bourbon, Eight & Sand blended bourbon, and Rossville Union rye. The company’s 2021 Luxco acquisition expanded the number of brands under the MGP umbrella, bringing in names like Ezra Brooks Bourbon Whiskey and Yellowstone Bourbon. And in May 2023, MGP, through the Luxco subsidiary, acquired Penelope Bourbon in an effort to bolster its premium spirits portfolio.
Today, MGP and its Luxco subsidiary operate five distilleries around the world, including the Indiana facility, since renamed the Ross & Squibb Distillery. While the name change was made in an effort to turn attention to MGP/Luxco’s own brands, there’s no denying its inherent connection to the practice of sourced spirits. Over the years, MGP has distilled for hundreds of brands, making it one of largest suppliers of whiskey in the world, whether you knew it or not.
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