MGP Emerges From Shadows Via New Metze’s Select Bourbon

Last week we were among the first to bring you word of a possible new general market whiskey release from MGP, the nearly 170 year old Indiana distillery known for being the sometimes controversial source of bourbon/American whiskey for a number of young distilleries and non-distilling producers. MGP has now confirmed plans to release Metze’s Select as a limited edition, premium bourbon come September.

Metze is the last name of MGP master distiller Greg Metze, who we first took notice of last year when he released a small amount of MGP Indiana bourbon as a special festival bottling. The plans for Metze’s Select are a little grander, with 6,000 hand-numbered bottles, each pricing around $75, being made available through distributor Anchor Distilling Co. out of San Francisco.

The 46.5% ABV Metze’s Select, according to MGP, is a unique expression created by Metze I’m guessing is unlike any of the third party bottlings normally associated with this large scale distillery. What’s in the bottle is described as a blend of

38% 2006 bourbon (21% rye), 3% 2006 bourbon (36% rye), and 59% 2008 bourbon (21% rye)

Limited tasting notes peg this whiskey as “a well-balanced bourbon featuring a Lawrenceburg-style high rye characteristic that merges spicy notes with creamy vanilla and caramel.”

“MGP has a proud legacy of making world-class whiskeys,” said MGP President and CEO Gus Griffin in a statement. “Metze’s Select celebrates that heritage and showcases our distillation, maturation and formulation expertise.”