Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 92 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 50% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $99.99 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Review Updated | 2023-09-27 |
Remus Reserve VII Bourbon Review
We’re already deep into bourbon release season, and we’d be fools not to turn our eyes to Indiana’s distilling behemoth. Still widely known as MGP, the Indiana-based distillery has in recent years rebranded to Ross & Squibb Distillery to create some distinction from its parent company. That rebrand has been coupled with increased promotion of in-house brands, which includes the Remus Repeal Reserve series of blended bourbon.
Now in its seventh iteration, Remus Repeal Reserve is an annual September release meant to honor the repeal of American Prohibition. It’s worth noting the name’s homage to lawyer and bootlegger George Remus remains controversial in some circles. (Remus murdered his wife in 1927 and was subsequently acquitted after pleading temporary insanity.)
Let’s put the history aside and peek at the whiskey. Ross & Squibb master distiller Ian Stirsman and his team of blenders released Remus Repeal Reserve VII with the following blend, bottled at 100 proof (as with all previous Remus Repeal iterations):
- 6 percent 2007 bourbon (21 percent rye)
- 26 percent 2013 bourbon (21 percent rye)
- 26 percent 2013 bourbon (36 percent rye)
- 21 perdent 2014 bourbon (21 percent rye)
- 21 percent 2014 bourbon (36 percent rye)
Though the components range in age from nine to 16 years, the great majority of this whiskey is nine and 10 year-old bourbon. The split between two different bourbon mash bills is also a common mark of Remus Repeal and has led to a variety of profiles and qualities over the prior six releases. (Remus Repeal V was a personal favorite, with VI proving somewhat polarizing among bourbon fans.)
Let’s see if release VII can stack up to the best of the batches.
Remus Repeal Reserve VII Bourbon: Stats and Availability
Remus Repeal Reserve VII is an Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at 100 proof. It carries a suggested retail price of $99.99. This national release has hit some notable highs on quality, flavor, and overall reception in the past.
Still, it’s not generally in the top tier of sought-after annual releases, and its retail and secondary prices generally don’t stray too far above the MSRP. Though distribution across markets will differ as with any limited or seasonal release, it’s a generally available bottle most can find without too much of a markup.
Remus Repeal Reserve VII Bourbon Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
There’s immediate rye-forward spice on the nose, coupled with maraschino cherry. A touch of orange marmalade carries the bourbon’s strongest sweet notes, and while I half expected some honey among the aromas, I had trouble finding it. That’s not a significant detraction, and it noses plenty sweet without.
Subdued nuttiness — walnuts, pecans, roasted cashews — comes forward with a bit more nosing, as do grassier, earthier scents, a bit like black topsoil. However, this doesn’t go into nearly the same herbal (dill!) territory as the distillery’s famed 95 percent rye whiskey mash bill.
There are some classic and familiar notes of 15+ year MGP (er, I mean Ross & Squibb!) bourbon here. The nose isn’t overly complex, but what it does, it does well.
Taste
At first sip, the whiskey carries pronounced butterscotch and vanilla; it’s drinking like a dipped soft-serve ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. But apart from a quick pop of vanilla-forward, sugary goodness, this doesn’t get bogged down in its own sweetness. Instead, it maintains a lightness that dances around the tongue and never quite settles in one place long enough for an ethanol burn to kick in.
About that lightness: Remus Repeal Reserve VII stays surprisingly light on the palate despite a buttery, unctuous mouthfeel that’s relatively rare in a 100 proof bourbon.
Cherry rolls back in on a second sip, not the maraschino from the nose but black cherry here, almost like a black cherry cola. In regard to overall quality, the palate feels on par with the nose, though it has noticeably more complexity in flavor compared to aroma.
Though I sensed it heavily on the nose, the palate doesn’t have as much flavor influence from that 16 year old bourbon. It makes me wonder if more highly-aged liquid could lend more depth — more barrel influence, more wood sugars, different aspects of fruit — without taking things into the overly tannic realm. Higher proofing might also bring greater depth, though after so many editions, Remus Repeal seems solidly locked in at 50 percent ABV.
The 2023 version is a mighty tasty pour so far, but Remus VII also feels like it’s not quite hitting its full potential at either this specific blend or ABV.
Finish
That buttery mouthfeel lends itself to a nice medium-length finish with a gradual transition from sweet back to spicy. In this case, it’s a wintergreen cooling sensation. Again, I wonder what would happen with tweaked proportions of more 10+ year whiskey, which could take this from very, very good to superlative.
Remus Repeal Reserve VII Bourbon Rating
92/100
Recap
Remus Repeal VII is a worthy extension of its line, though it falls just short of some fantastic predecessors, particularly batch V. (Speaking of which, I might need to crack open my last bottle of that soon.)
Dozens of bottlers have picked fantastic stock from what is now Ross & Squibb, and it’s easy — though probably inaccurate — to speculate how much well-aged stock the distillery still has on hand.
But as Ross & Squibb continues to build up its in-house labels, they’re clearly holding enough back to continue pushing out quality blended releases. Remus Repeal Reserve is a bourbon I’m always excited to sample, if only because each release brings such distinct qualities. While the 2023 release is probably worth the price of admission for most, it’s never too early to dream of what next year’s blend might bring.
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