The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Andrew Graham
Rating: A-
Remus Repeal Reserve Bourbon I
(Credit: Randall Borkus)
Many whiskey folks know what Midwest Grain Products of Indiana, or MGP, is. For those who don’t, it’s the biggest distiller that they’ve never heard of.
For the uninitiated, MGP is a facility in southeast Indiana, right across the border from Kentucky, that mass-produces whiskey for various brands. Angel’s Envy, Bulleit Rye, Filibuster, George Dickel Rye, High West, James E. Pepper, Smooth Ambler, and Templeton Rye are examples of brands that either have or do source their whiskey from MGP. If the bottle reads, “Distilled in Indiana,” odds are that what’s in it comes from MGP.
That it’s common for newer-to-market brands to source from MGP as they wait for their own juice to mature makes me think of MGP as a cheat code for the whiskey boom. Like it or not, a good amount of what folks talk about when they talk about whiskey boils down to branding, and it is perfectly straightforward today to sell whiskey without making whiskey. Independent bottling is, of course, nothing new. MGP has just made it quite ordinary in the bourbon and rye scenes.
The George Remus brand represents a departure from MGP’s conventional model of selling whiskey to other companies to slap their logo and brand on, in that it is MGP’s in-house bourbon brand. Released once a year, the Remus Repeal Reserve series is typically an exercise in blending relatively well-aged bourbons, with each year’s release having a different motive.
The motive for the Remus Repeal Reserve IV, released last September, is rye: It’s a blend of two high-rye bourbons — one with 21% rye in the mash bill, and the other with 36% — both of which were barrelled in 2008, making it the oldest Remus from the Repeal Reserve series to hit shelves. The bourbons are blended and then bottled at 100 proof.
If your speculation is that MGP might just keep the best stuff for themselves, then I have no argument there. I found this bourbon to be extraordinarily confident and balanced, evoking things that are classy and subtly luxe. It is ornate without crossing the line to ostentatiousness.
The Bourbon
The nose of this whiskey offers macerated red fruit, cinnamon, and a hint of cocoa. Cherry cola is the flavor note that hits the palate immediately, which turns to rich vanilla and sweet cream and finally notes of toasted oak and baking spice. The spice carries the finish, which appreciates the relatively high proofing.
The nose of this whiskey offers macerated red fruit, cinnamon, and a hint of cocoa. Cherry cola is the flavor note that hits the palate immediately, which turns to rich vanilla and sweet cream and finally notes of toasted oak and baking spice. The spice carries the finish, which appreciates the relatively high proofing.
The Price
There’s nothing about this bourbon that isn’t very, very good besides the fact that it’s pretty hard to find right now, more than a year after its release, and it’s on the pricier side. MSRP is $100, and if you ever come upon a bottle and have a Benjamin to spend on a whiskey that you probably won’t come across again, then get ready to enjoy some of the best juice that MGP has to offer. The series has now moved onto its fifth release, so V may be easier to get than IV.
There’s nothing about this bourbon that isn’t very, very good besides the fact that it’s pretty hard to find right now, more than a year after its release, and it’s on the pricier side. MSRP is $100, and if you ever come upon a bottle and have a Benjamin to spend on a whiskey that you probably won’t come across again, then get ready to enjoy some of the best juice that MGP has to offer. The series has now moved onto its fifth release, so V may be easier to get than IV.
