When MGP started releasing their own bottled and branded product through the Remus line I was excited to their vision for MGP’s legendary bourbon. Unfortunately it came in the form of a fine but uninspired bottling, George Remus, and I largely forgot about the brand and moved on. I ignored their first Remus Repeal release and was fully intending to ignore the second until @texasdrinker convinced me it was worth a taste and he wasn’t wrong. When Remus announced a 14 year old bottled in bond release I was intrigued but then I saw the price which made me hesitate.
Luck would have it that the same week we accomplished a major milestone at work was the Remus Volstead Reserve would hit Austin. I was originally planning on buying a similarly priced bottle of scotch or cajoling a local store owner into selling me a much needed additional bottle of Cigar Blend(so I could tag u/prepreludesh in the review of course) but when I went to the store after work I couldn’t resist the Remus.
Being the patient bourbon drinker I am, I rushed home and immediately opened it to pour a dram before my wife got home. Over the last few days I’ve sipped on this a few times as I didn’t want to rush a review after the first pour or two.
Remus Volstead Reserve
Age: 14 years
Abv: 100 proof
Price: $200
Neat
Nose: Soft and sweet with brown sugar and oak backed by subtler vanilla and herbal notes.
Taste: Butterscotch and rich oak take the forefront with fainter baking spice, herbal and nutty notes. The delicious flavor is backed up by a nice viscous mouthfeel.
Finish: Long, warm, dry finish with lingering baking spice, oak and brown sugar and that faint nutty note again.
Conclusion
It turns out a nice nutty note is what a lot of other well aged MGP was missing for me. This bottle is fantastic; the nose is simple but sweet and inviting, the palate is very flavorful and heavy on butterscotch and oak while the finish is long, spicier and dry making me want the next sip. I really like that it is sweet without being cloying or simple and oaky without being bitter or tannic.
While the notes themselves are different tasting this reminds me of tasting Old Rip Van Winkle, on of my all time favorites, in all the right ways. It’s got an inviting nose, a rich, sweet and oaky palate and then a drier and spicier finish. I am down to the last few ounces of my 2018 ORVW but I couldn’t resist doing a side by side of these two and it was very close, though the ORVW won by a nose.
I had never tasted a nutty note in MGP before so I tasted this 3 times, from different glencairns just to be sure that was what I was getting. It is a step up over most of the older MGP bottles I’ve had and I’ll be making a blind tasting video in the near future.
Despite the high price I will be getting a backup bottle.
TL;DR: Fantastic MGP with a bonus nutty note, worth the high price of admission
4 Stars - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite
Scale
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