ATCHISON, Kan., December 18, 2015—MGP Ingredients (Nasdaq: MGPI), a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches, has been named Distiller of the Year by Whisky Advocate, one of the most prominent publications in the global spirits industry.
“This is a great honor for our company and one for which all of our employees can be very proud,” said MGP President and CEO Gus Griffin. “While quite unexpected, we are honored at this recognition of our heritage, contributions and commitment to supporting and building the whiskey industry.”
In announcing the award in an online article summarizing MGP’s distillery business segment, Whisky Advocate Managing Editor Lew Bryson wrote in part, “2015 was the year that MGP decloaked, as it were, and opened up…MGP told us about more experimental whiskeys they were making, with a wide variety of mash bills. Then they finally delivered their own brand, Metze’s Select, honoring longtime master distiller Greg Metze. It was quite a year.”
Bryson noted in his closing comments that “MGP still makes whiskey almost exclusively for other bottlers, and plans to continue that business, but it has had a huge effect on the industry, and on consumer tastes. Look for ‘Distilled in Indiana’ in tiny print on all those whiskey labels; you can count on the quality.”
MGP got its start in the distilled spirits industry in the 1940s producing grain neutral spirits and gins at its distillery in Atchison, Kan., for bottlers and rectifiers of all sizes. This is a major part of the company’s heritage and a sizeable share of its business. That business evolved further with MGP’s purchase of the historic Seagram’s distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ind., in 2011, which enabled the company to add premium whiskeys to its spirits portfolio while also increasing capacities for the production of grain neutral spirts and gins.
About MGP
MGP is a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches. Distilled spirits include bourbon and rye whiskeys, gins and vodkas, which are carefully crafted through a combination of art and science and backed by over 170 years of experience. The company's proteins and starches are created in the same manner and provide a host of functional, nutritional and sensory benefits for a wide range of food products. MGP additionally is a top producer of high quality industrial alcohol for use in both food and non-food applications. The company is headquartered in Atchison, Kansas, where distilled alcohol products and food ingredients are produced. Premium spirits are also distilled and matured at the company facility in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. For more information, visit mgpingredients.com.