MGP’s FY whiskey sales sink 52%
Third-party producer MGP Ingredients saw sales drop by nearly a quarter last year as demand for its whiskey plunged.
Kansas-based MGP, which owns Yellowstone Bourbon and El Mayor Tequila, reported a consolidated sales drop of 24% to US$536.4 million for 2025.
For its fourth quarter (Q4), the firm saw sales fall by 23% to US$138.3m. The previous three months saw MGP record a sales drop of 19%.
Julie Francis, who joined MGP as CEO and president last summer, described 2025 as a “year of deliberate repositioning”.
The business reported full-year consolidated gross profit of US$199.4m – a decrease of 30%. In Q4, this fell by 35% to US$48.3m.
Through its Distilling Solutions arm, MGP makes whiskey, gin, and vodka for companies as a third-party operator. It is one of the largest businesses of its kind in the US.
MGP’s 2025 sales were hit by a 45% drop for its Distilling Solutions segment. Full-year brown goods sales were down by 52% as the firm ‘proactively renegotiated contracts and many large customers paused purchases, including to balance their whiskey inventories and manage their working capital’.
In Q4, the Distilling Solutions business plummeted by 47%, which was attributed to ‘lower demand for both aged and new distillate whiskey’.
Premium-plus spirits sales rise
The company’s Branded Spirits segment, which includes brands like Penelope Bourbon and Rebel Bourbon, experienced a 3% drop last year. For the last three months of 2025, this division dipped by 1%.
Premium-plus sales within the Branded Spirits arm rose by 5% in 2025, while the mid- and value-priced portfolio collectively fell by 13% as MGP ‘continued to optimise its offerings’.
Branded Spirits sales in Q4 were also led by Penelope Bourbon, which sits in the premium-plus portfolio. This segment rose by 10% in Q4 while mid- and value-priced brands fell by double digits due to ‘lower volumes of certain Tequila, liqueurs and cordial brands’.
MGP’s spirits portfolio also includes Ezra Brooks Bourbon, Remus Bourbon, Dos Primos Tequila, Exotico Tequila, The Quiet Man Irish whiskey, and Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream.
Meanwhile, the Ingredient Solutions segment saw sales fall by 7% for the full year and by 10% in Q4. The residual impact from the failure of a key piece of equipment impacted the division’s sales.
Francis added: “From an industry standpoint, we believe that elevated inventory levels will continue to pressure our brown goods business in the near-term. However, we expect improved operational reliability in the Ingredient Solutions segment, continued premium-plus momentum, and accelerated productivity and cost discipline to help partially offset these headwinds – all of which are reflected in our 2026 guidance.”
In its guidance for the year ahead, MGP predicts sales to be in the range of US$480m and US$500m.
“As we look ahead, we believe our enhanced strategic clarity, decisive actions, and disciplined execution will position the company to deliver sustained growth off of our 2026 guidance expectations,” Francis concluded.
“Many of these actions are well underway, and they are already changing how we operate, giving us confidence that MGP will emerge better aligned, more resilient, and well positioned for long-term value creation.”
Related news
