For Whiskey Geeks, “Sourced” Is No Longer a Dirty WordAt the start of a recent tour of Bardstown Bourbon Company, my guide made the raison d’etre of this Kentucky distillery crystal clear: This operation was conceived as an alternative to MGP. Specifically, when millionaire co-founder Peter Loftin decided to get into the whiskey game in 2014, he wanted to release bourbon made in Kentucky instead of MGP’s home of Indiana. For those who might not be as familiar with that whiskey minutiae — or those initials — let’s back up. MGP is the factory-like distillery in Indiana that has been the source of so much whiskey bottled by other brands over the years, including well-known names like Bulleit, Dickel, Templeton and many others. The reason for sourcing or contract distilling is that many whiskey brands don’t actually have their own distilleries, at least when they are first starting, so they buy their juice from elsewhere (like MGP) and slap a label on it. There’s nothing wrong with this practice — it’s practically as old as the American whiskey industry itself. But for too long, brands were not transparent about it, often making up bogus stories about their liquid’s history, which left a bad taste in whiskey fans’ mouths. Fortunately, transparency has improved somewhat in recent years. | 
