US distiller MGP Ingredients has launched its first namesake brand, debuting with a limited-edition Bourbon.
In a statement, the company said the inaugural release – MGP Chapter One: Out of the Shadows – is a ten-year-old, 111-proof Bourbon distilled at its facility in Lawrenceburg in Indiana.
MGP Ingredients operates a hybrid business model, distilling bulk spirits for third-party brand owners while owning its own portfolio of brands including Penelope Bourbon, Yellowstone and Rebel.
Matias Bentel, MGP Ingredients' chief marketing officer, told Just Drinks re-establishing the MGP name “reflects a broader moment for the distillery as it steps out from behind the scenes” and does not change the “distillery's commitment to its existing partners”.
The company has produced 6,000 cases of the inaugural release, which will roll out through its wholesale distribution network, Bentel confirmed.
The Bourbon has a suggested retail price of $69.99 per 750ml bottle and will be available in the US this fall, the company said.
On pricing, Bentel said it was “determined by considering comparable ten-year-old Bourbons in the market” with the goal of offering a “premium, high-rye Bourbon while “remaining competitive within the category”.
Looking ahead, the company is “planning more releases”. However, Bentel added: “We’re not in a position to share specifics about future products at this point. The focus now is establishing the MGP name on shelves and what this initial release represents.”
In July, MGP Ingredients booked lower second-quarter sales and earnings, results that contributed to a half-year loss.
In the three months to the end of June, sales in the company’s Distilling Solutions division fell 42% year on year to $29.2m, weighed down by a 59% decline in brown goods sales.
MGP Ingredients' Branded Spirits division recorded a 1% decline in second-quarter sales to $59.6m, though it saw sales of Penelope Bourbon rise 13%.
In July, the company hired Tom Neiheisel, Sol Clahane, Marilyn Chen, and David Sanders in a bid to “accelerate growth”.
MGP Ingredients said the appointments would “strengthen its commercial and marketing excellence”.
Group sales fell 15% to $124.4m in the second quarter.
Gross profit declined 20% to $46.5m, adjusted EBITDA dropped 23% to $27.6m, and net income decreased to $12m from $14.4m in the corresponding period of 2025.
