(Photo: MGP)
Big news for American whiskey fans!
On Wednesday, Indiana’s bulk distilling juggernaut MGP announced that it’s expanding its in-house spirits portfolio with a namesake American whiskey series. The first release in the collection, dubbed MGP Chapter One: Out of the Shadows, pays homage to the distillers’ famed high-rye bourbon mashbill and is slated to hit shelves nationwide this fall at a suggested retail price of $69.99.
Chapter One is described as a 110-proof, 10-year-old straight bourbon selectively blended from barrels of the historic LBSV mashbill (60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley). The barrels were aged for a full decade in the facility’s Rickhouse G, imbuing aromas of butterscotch, burnt sugar, molasses and cherry, followed by flavors of cola, raspberries, chocolate, sassafras and leather, according to the brand.
“We’ve been making whiskey and spirits that others have proudly put their names on for decades,” Julie Francis, president and CEO of MGP Ingredients, Inc., remarked in a news release. “Bringing the MGP name back to the distillery and launching MGP Chapter One: Out of the Shadows is an exciting opportunity to share that story directly with consumers.”
The release signals a surprise pivot for MGP, a distiller that — its latest bottle correctly points out — has long worked from the shadows.
For decades, the Lawrenceburg, Indiana-based company has been synonymous with its Distilling Solutions arm, the largest supplier of white-labeled whiskey in the United States. From Bulleit Rye to Redemption Bourbon, MGP is the workhorse distiller behind hundreds of brands, some of which exclusively rebottle MGP juice and others of which mix MGP liquid with in-house distillate.
The once-lucrative business model has taken a hit from industry headwinds. In June, the company reported a 59% drop in whiskey sales for its Distilling Solutions arm. The news came less than a year after MGP revealed that it was scaling down white-label whiskey production “in response to the softening American whiskey category trends and elevated industry-wide barrel inventories.”
Upper management has refocused MGP’s priorities on its Branded Spirits arm, which owns in-house imprints like Penelope Bourbon and Yellowstone whiskey. A recent earnings report revealed that these “premium-plus” whiskey brands outperformed the rest of MGP’s portfolio, growing by 5% in a quarter when several categories dropped by steep double digits.
“These results reflect continued momentum in our premium-plus portfolio, led by Penelope Bourbon and Yellowstone, and an improvement in select mid- and value-priced brands,” Francis said at the time. “As we move through the second half of 2026, we will maintain our strategic roadmap and drive our key growth initiatives, while prioritising our best opportunities for growth, taking decisive actions and executing with discipline.”
Chapter One: Out of the Shadows is the first Branded Spirits whiskey that bears the MGP name. As the historic distiller forges a new path forward, it appears it’ll be leaning harder than ever on the reputation of its three-letter moniker.