MGP acquires George Remus whiskey brand

By cbadmin on November 14, 2016

Leading third party spirits producer MGP Ingredients has further extended its line of wholly-owned brands with the acquisition of George Remus whiskey.

MGP, one of the largest third party distillers in the US, purchased the brand from Cincinnati-based Queen City Whiskey for an undisclosed sum.

“While our core business will continue to be supplying other brand owners with premium distilled spirits, development of our own portfolio of brands is an important part of our long-term strategy,” said MGP president and CEO Gus Griffin.

“The George Remus brand is very appealing due to the strength of the brand concept and the outstanding early stage development and marketing work done by the founders. We believe the brand is now at a state of evolution where we can add valuable resources to help it reach its full potential.”

Indiana-based MGP released Indiana straight Bourbon Metze’s Select in July 2015 – marking the company’s first in-house spirit launch in 23 years.

In April this year, the firm launched Till American Wheat Vodka, distilled using Kansas wheat.

The George Remus brand portfolio currently consists of three expressions: George Remus Bourbon Whiskey, George Remus Rye Whiskey and George Remus Limited Edition Rye Whiskey. Each currently is available for retail in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

The brand’s namesake, George Remus, was a bootlegger who owned whiskey distilleries and warehouses in the greater Cincinnati area during Prohibition, including Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where MGP’s premium distillery is based.

“We are very pleased to have a company with the legacy and reputation of MGP assume ownership of the George Remus brand,” said J.B. Kropp, co-founder of Queen City Whiskey.

“Based on the strong consumer interest in both the George Remus story and the whiskey, we believe the brand has tremendous potential. We are very proud of the work my partners and I have done developing and growing the brand to this point, and are excited to partner with MGP to drive its next stage of growth.”