Remus Repeal Reserve Bourbon is named for George Remus, “The King of the Bootleggers” of the early days of Prohibition. It is made in Lawrenceburg, Indiana by the MGP distillery. There is no age statement on the bottle, but they do list the whiskeys used in this brand. The Bourbons used are 50% Bourbon (21% rye) made in 2005, 15% Bourbon (36% rye) made in 2006, and 35% Bourbon (21% rye) made in 2006. This means the youngest whiskey is 13 years old.
The bottle and label have a very nice, art deco look that takes you back to 1933 and the repeal of Prohibition. It is also very much a “repeal” style whiskey in that the whiskeys are 13 and 14 years old. The whiskey bottled then was usually either very young – less than a year old, or very old as they were made before Prohibition began in 1920.
Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 94
Age: No Age Statement – 13 years old.
Nose: Marshmallows and caramel, baked apples with cloves and ginger spice and a little oak wood.
Taste: A surprisingly thin mouth feel. Lots of caramel and ginger spice with a little oak tannin. When tasted with a dried cranberry, a note of orange zest comes out in the whiskey, but still very sweet with caramel and ginger spice. Tasted with a pecan and the marshmallow sweetness from the nose comes forward as well as the hint of orange zest, caramel and ginger. I really like this with the pecan and it makes me wonder what it would be like in a Manhattan cocktail.
Finish: Baked apples on the finish with lots of oak and spice. The cranberry added that touch of orange zest to the finish as well as the taste. The pecan made the finish very sweet with marshmallow and orange zest with only a hint of oak.
I am pairing this Bourbon with a RoMa Craft Intemperance BA XXI Breach of Peace cigar. I find the smoke full of barnyard notes and cedar spice that I hope balance the sweetness of the Bourbon. Besides, with a name like “Intemperance”, it seemed natural to smoke it with a “Repeal Reserve” Bourbon. The whiskey adds some sweetness of dried fruit to the smoke and makes the cedar spice more ginger spice. The smoke on the other hand, makes the Bourbon a little less sweet by adding more oak dryness, particularly to the finish. They work well together.
February 19, 2020 at 6:44 pm
The bottle you tasted appears to be Remus Reserve Series I (and says so on the bottle neck), which was released in late 2017. That means the bourbons in the blend weren’t quite as old as you estimated and have been in the bottle a while. Series I was 94 proof, while Series II and III, released in late 2018 and 2019, respectively, were both 100 proof.
February 23, 2020 at 6:32 pm
Interesting. I picked up the bottle about a week before doing the review and assumed it was the latest release.