YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
As a third-generation distiller, Missouri Ridge Distillery co-owner Greg Pope said his family has been making liquor for over 100 years. He opened Branson’s only grain-to-bottle distillery and its first brewery nearly a decade ago, and this led to the creation of its single-barrel bourbon. The spirit has won several national and international gold medals since 2017, Pope said, noting its mash bill – a mix of grains used to make bourbon – is 60% super-sweet white corn and 40% two-row barley. The bourbon whiskey, sold in 750-milliliter bottles, is available in select liquor stores and restaurants around Missouri as well as the United Kingdom.
SBJ: How long has your company been making this bourbon?
Greg Pope: Since we opened our doors. So, officially, I’ve been making this product since April 22, 2016, when I got my federal distiller’s license. Unofficially, 99 years.
SBJ: What separates a great bourbon whiskey from an average one?
Pope: Well, flavor, and all things equal, lack of burn for product on the same proof. My 94 proof bourbon drinks smoother than someone else’s 80 proof stuff because we make a better quality whiskey. A lot of it has to do with the equipment that we use. I have a proprietary column that comes off of my pot still. I’m the only distillery in the world that uses it because I’m the one who invented it. It gives me a higher proof and a better-flavored distillate in one distillation than any other distillery in the world. In fact, every other distillery has to redistill their product between three to six times to get to the same proof point that I do in one.
SBJ: As this product is your top seller, how many bottles do you sell annually?
Pope: I sell a lot of them. I don’t know that I have ever sat down to do a quantity on individual bottles. The government doesn’t require that. We do everything based off of proof gallons, not off of bottles. A proof gallon is one volumetric gallon of alcohol at 100 proof. With the government, everything’s based off of tax revenue. So, we’re currently taxed at a rate of $2.70 cents per proof gallon.
SBJ: How much does that translate to in sales for the bourbon whiskey?
Pope: More than $100,000 a year.
SBJ: Where is it currently sold, and do you have plans to expand its availability?
Pope: As far as distribution post-COVID, we’ve actually shrunk our distribution network. We’re in all of the Flat Creek diners; they operate both as a liquor store and as an outlet for cocktails. So, when you’re enjoying them, you can have a Missouri Ridge Distillery cocktail, and if you enjoyed it, you can leave with a bottle. They have been with us for those seven years that we’ve been open.
SBJ: Where are some other distribution points in?
Pope: There’s a couple of little liquor stores like Duckees (Drive Thru) over in Kimberling City and stuff like that. There’s a couple little places around town that we like to refer people to, like J and J Cheese Factory over off of [Highway] 65.
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