Remus Repeal Reserve V
Remus Repeal Reserve V
For our first two exclusive content releases, we are tasting two aged bourbons in the 13-16 year old age range. First up is the Remus Repeal Reserve V and the second is the Sam Houston 15 Year (full batch specs to be included in the next post). I chose these two because they are both aged and relatively the same proof (100° vs. 103°), but one is from Indiana and the other from Kentucky. Of course, there are a TON of other variables that go into creating whiskeys, but this is supposed to be fun not a scientific experiment!
Remus is the in-house brand of MGP, which is a large company that produces distilled spirits and food ingredients. MGP has been the sourced whiskey for many-a-brands since the bourbon/rye resurgence in the U.S. If you want to see which brands source from MGP just do a Google search or click here or here, but there’s a lot of material out there on this topic.
After years of being a supplier of whiskey to other brands, Remus decided to build their own brand in-house and launched Remus Repeal Reserve in late 2017, and a single barrel program for the George Remus Bourbon (and Rossville Union Rye, which I have not had) brand in 2020, one of which, I previously reviewed earlier this year (to see that review, click here).
I enjoyed Remus’s younger single barrel store pick so I’m excited to see what this blend of aged bourbons tastes like. For those that are curious about how all the components in this blend add up, I pulled together a quick analysis at the end of the post.
ABV: 50%
Blend information: 2021 Medley
9% 2005 Bourbon: 21% Rye (16 year old)
5% 2006 Bourbon: 36% Rye (15 year old)
19% 2006 Bourbon: 21% Rye (15 year old)
13% 2008 Bourbon: 21% Rye (13 year old)
54% 2008 Bourbon: 36% Rye (13 year old)
Price: $85-$90
How it smells…..big ole vanilla, rye haystacks, a touch of cherry with healthy amount of oak, baking spices. The vanilla is really pronounced though, with some sugary sweetness as well.
How it tastes….at the start, the Remus gives you a big old warm hug….I supposed I can’t refer to it as a “Kentucky Hug” since this is Indiana hooch. Through the warm embrace, you get some spicy flavors, a little peppery, but more of those baking spices with allspice and clove and the dryness of cinnamon. Oak comes in at the end and the age shines through here and it gets a bit dusty. I don’t think it is overly oaked, but you have a touch of bitterness/astringency with some of that dry rye haystacks flavor at the end. The finish has some bitterness, like walnuts but with some semi-sweet vanilla to balance it out.
Final thoughts….I struggled a little with this tasting. My first go-around I thought it smelled very much like a bourbon but tasted very much like a rye. Not a 100% rye or a 95%/5% rye, but if you had told me that this was a 51%-60% rye, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. After being open for a week or so, I gave it another (and another) sip and it took on more of a true bourbon flavor profile, albeit a well-oaked bourbon flavor profile. The bourbon is well aged with all of the components at least 13 years old with the 15-16 year components making up 33% of the total “blend”.
With the age levels of the juice inside, I’m not shocked that oak is noticeable. I kind of find it a lot like a Woodford Reserve, which if you saw my recent review on, you’d know I find Woodford juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a little too oaky. Not overly-oaked, but on the far end of the oak spectrum for what I prefer. On the first tasting, I thought it had way too much oak and bitterness in the sip.
On my second tasting, I added a decent sized ice cube to open it up a little bit. I found it sweeter and more honey-like with a much better balance. The vanilla turned into more of a vanilla syrup and the oak became more complementary. The baking spices were present, but in the background, and so a much more well-rounded bourbon in my opinion.
When I went back to the bottle a third time, while finishing up this review, more time had passed and I think the bottle opened up even further. I found the bitterness from the oak diminishing and taking on some more of that mustiness, like a well-aged wine, adding another interesting layer of flavor. I also found the rye spice notes started to dominate, which was what I was hoping for at the onset given the high-rye bourbon make-up of the “medley”.
Initially I clobbered it in my ratings giving it a 2x 🥃 because I found the oak too overwhelming and bitter….and then I went up to 2.5x 🥃 at my second go-around, but on this final tasting, a week or so later, I’m going to say 3x 🥃. It really grew on me and perhaps it opened up a bit after pouring out the neck of the bottle and the oak dominance dissipated while the rye spiciness began to shine through.
So I enjoyed it, but I’m not going to buy a backup bottle of this, which is why a 3x 🥃 rating seems fair. While I might not be rushing out to buy another bottle of this expression, I’m interested enough to try the Remus Repeal Reserve VI whenever it comes out. For the age category, the price isn’t terrible and it ended up being a fun little sip.
Doing a bit of nerdery math to the information that was provided on the label, here are the stats for the blend of bourbons used in this release:
Nice Sipper Ratings Reminder…
All ratings are done on a scale between 1x 🥃 and 5x 🥃 according to the following criteria
1x 🥃 = I don't like this at all and/or not worth the cost by a mile.
2x 🥃🥃 = This is "meh" and/or slightly overpriced.
3x 🥃🥃🥃 = This is good stuff and/or the price is right.
4x 🥃🥃🥃🥃 = This is wonderful and I'm always keeping it in stock especially at this price.
5x 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃 = This is amazing and/or this is way underpriced for the quality of the experience.
