LAWRENCEBURG, Ind., September 12, 2014—MGP is taking on the dual role of first-time challenger and lone Indiana contestant in this year’s World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay™ in Bardstown, Ky. The event is scheduled to be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, as part of the week-long Kentucky Bourbon Festival®.

“Touting the slogan ‘That’s How We Roll,’ we’re literally barreling our way into the competition,” said MGP President and CEO Gus Griffin. “We’re going into the event with a tremendous amount of Indiana pride and a solid reputation as a leading producer of world-class bourbon and whiskeys. That’s our heritage and we’re excited to carry it forward as a new contender in this fun-filled competitive arena.”

MGP’s barrel rolling team consists of Cody Frank, Curtis Fogle, Chet Morling, Eric Ulrich and Xavier Wheeler, all warehousemen at the company’s Lawrenceburg, Ind., facility. All other teams entered in the annual relay represent bourbon companies located in Kentucky.

“Our team is really pumped about this unique opportunity to put their skills to the test for MGP, as well as for our fellow denizens of the Hoosier state,” said Robert McCormack, Lawrenceburg facility logistics manager and the team’s coach.

The competition is sponsored by Independent Stave Company, Lebanon, Mo. It is a timed race in which team and individual speed and accuracy are key factors. Ten barrels, each filled with 500 pounds of water, must be rolled around a 40-foot by 28-foot railed track, and one person, called the “ricker,” sends the barrels down a rick similar to those in bourbon warehouses. Another person outside the rick is tasked with helping position the barrels according to rigid guidelines. Ten seconds are subtracted for each barrel that meets those guidelines, and the lowest time wins.

“MGP’s team looks forward to taking part in this highly anticipated and entertaining competition,” McCormack said. “We’re cheering them on as they prepare to roll their way into the relay’s history books, not only as a newcomer and major underdog, but also as the event’s first non-Kentucky team.”

Attracting thousands of spectators, along with local, regional and national news coverage, the relay has continued to gain popularity since being organized in conjunction with the first Kentucky Bourbon Festival in 1991. Additional details about the festival can be accessed at www.KyBourbonFestival.com.

About MGP

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, where a variety of distilled alcohol products and food ingredients are manufactured. Distilled spirits are also produced at company facilities in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.