Bourbon

Remus Repeal Reserve Series V Straight Bourbon Whiskey

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Remus Repeal Reserve Series V
Straight Bourbon Whiskey

50% ABV
$90
Website
Remus Repeal Reserve Series V
We would like to thank Luxco and BYRNE PR for sending us samples to review.

What the Producer Says

Luxco will debut Remus Repeal Reserve Series V Straight Bourbon Whiskey in September 2021. A limited annual release, Series V is the fifth edition of the award-winning Remus Repeal Reserve Bourbon collection. Produced to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Series V showcases a medley of five bourbons ranging from 2005 to 2008, offering a rare taste of the finest cask bourbon selections available from one of the oldest distilleries in the country.

“Remus Repeal Reserve has been such an amazing journey for our distillery team, and we wanted to do something extraordinary for our fifth-year anniversary,” said Master Blender David Whitmer. “Series V exemplifies what our Remus Repeal collection stands for: to showcase the incredible range of medleys and aged reserves we work with in Lawrenceburg. Whether this is your first taste of our Remus Repeal collection or your fifth, Series V represents a particularly special opportunity for us to show you what great bourbon can be.”

Named after the legendary “King of the Bootleggers,” Remus Repeal Reserve is an annual series from George Remus® Bourbon, crafted by the expert distillers at MGP’s 174-year-old distillery in Lawrenceburg, IN. Made in a signature high-rye style, the medley changes each year, allowing the team to experiment with their various mash bills and aged reserves. Remus Repeal Reserve Series V is comprised of:

  • 9% 2005 Bourbon (21% Rye)
  • 5% 2005 Bourbon (36% Rye)
  • 19% 2006 Bourbon (21% Rye)
  • 13% 2008 Bourbon (21% Rye)
  • 54% 2008 Bourbon (36% Rye)

Made from outstanding reserves ranging from 2005 to 2008, Series V leads with dried fruit, rich caramel, maple syrup, roasted nuts and leather. The beginning includes rich toffee and vanilla, followed by chocolate, glazed nuts and oak. The finish offers candied fruit, caramel, baking spice and a lingering oaky rye spice.

Highly anticipated, previous releases of Remus Repeal Reserve have achieved some of the highest recognition in the bourbon category, including a Gold-Best in Class in the 2020 World of Whiskies Competition and 98 points from Tasting Panel Magazine for Remus Repeal Reserve Series IV.

Remus Repeal Reserve Series V retails for a suggested $89.99 per 750-ml bottle and will be available in limited quantities in September 2021 to coincide with National Bourbon Heritage Month. Series V is bottled at 100 proof/50% ABV.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich salted caramel, brown sugar candied bacon, maple syrup, oak, honey, baking spices with herbal hints of oregano.
Palate:  Caramel, vanilla, dark chocolate covered cherries, oak, cinnamon, pepper, orange zest with a bit of nutmeg.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with chocolate, nutmeg, vanilla and dried mint.
Comments:  This is my first experience with the Remus Repeal Reserve lineup, so can’t compare it to previous releases – but this won’t be the last. This is delicious! With older stock (granted, non-age stated so the parcels may have been tanked at some earlier date, but hard to imagine them sitting on tanked stock for any extended period), this has a nice balance of sweetness, spice, and oak. My palate typically prefers bourbon 12 yrs or younger (with a few exceptions). I just don’t care for ‘oak bombs’, so if you’re looking for heavy oak – this might not fit the bill. Appreciate the transparency of the parcels and mashbills, as well as the 50% ABV. With some water I get more orange notes on the nose and palate, without it losing the balance. A really solid blend of well-made straight bourbons, and in today’s market – priced reasonably.

Rating: Must Try

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Booker’s 2021-02 “Tagalong Batch”

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Booker’s “Tagalong Batch” Batch 2021-02
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

6 Years, 5 Months, 0 Days
63.95% ABV
$90
Website
Bookers 2021-02 Tagalong Batch
We would like to thank Beam Suntory and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says:

The second release of the Booker’s® Bourbon 2021 Collection is Booker’s Batch 2021-02 ‘Tagalong Batch.’ This batch celebrates the way my dad, Booker Noe, learned the ropes at the distillery – by ‘tagging along’ with his grandfather and my great grandfather, Jim Beam.

Growing up, the distillery was like Dad’s playground; he loved spending time with his grandfather and everyone else who worked there, asking questions and expanding his knowledge. That’s ultimately how he developed his curiosity and passion for whiskey, and it was how he became such a talented Master Distiller.

The tradition of ‘tagging along’ has continued generation to generation. I learned much of what I know about whiskey by following in Dad’s footsteps, digesting all of the information I could while working side-by-side at the distillery. It’s also a tradition I continued with my son Freddie, and one I hope he’ll share with his children in the future.

Tagging along had some other rewards too, such as heading to the nearby lake to cast a line together after a hard day’s work. We all have fond memories of that quality time, and I hope you enjoy this batch as part of your quality time with family and friends too.
— Fred Noe, Beam Family 7th Generation Master Distiller

TASTING NOTES
Nose: Aromas of vanilla, caramel and “sweet brown” wood sugar flavors
Taste: Unique, yet unmistakably Booker’s® Bourbon
Finish: Pleasant, warm finish, both sweet and spicy

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich vanilla, caramel, chocolate fudge, oak, peanut brittle, cinnamon, leather, bit of toasted orange zest.
Palate:  Rich mouthfeel with fudge, salted caramel, nutmeg, honey, cinnamon, oak, bit of pepper and subtle fruit notes (maybe baked peaches).
Finish:  Moderately long with fudge, caramel and oak.
Comments:  While I don’t have a lineup of previous batches to compare against, I really like this one. I usually get a some chocolate, but this one is more pronounced with it taking on a more fudgy angle. A bit of water amps the peanut notes, brings out a bit more citrus notes on the palate, and tamps the pepper (which isn’t that sharp). And it continues the streak of “hadn’t met a Booker’s I didn’t like!”.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Bulleit Bourbon Single Barrel

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Bulleit Bourbon Single Barrel
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Hand Selected by Discount Drinks
Barrel# 1-B3-0532

52% ABV
$60
Website
Bulleit Bourbon Single Barrel

What the Producer Says

Nothing unfortunately (not mentioned on their website; and the only other thing on the label of note is that it is non-chill filtered).

What Gary Says

Nose:  Salted caramel, cocoa, baking spices, oak, tobacco and worn leather.
Palate:  Chocolate and caramel with nutty spice, oak, bit of banana-nut bread.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with dark chocolate, allspice and oak.
Comments:  A solid, spicy bourbon. Many folks (myself included) have thought these were simply Four Roses single barrels with another label, as it is widely known that Four Roses had contract distilled for Diageo. Per Diageo, this isn’t the case. Unfortunately they won’t confirm who did distill the product, which is a shame (at least for those who appreciate transparency). Regardless who distilled it, this is a tasty bourbon – although with a single barrel can be highly variable.

Rating: Stands Out

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Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

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Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

45% ABV
$40
Website
Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

What the Distillery Says

This truly small-batch bourbon starts with traditionally grown corn, rye and malted barley. All of our staple grains are cultivated exclusively for us on the Omlin Family farm in Quincy, Washington. The grains are mashed, distilled, and barreled in our Woodinville® distillery, then trucked back over the Cascade Mountains to our private barrel houses, where Central Washington’s extreme temperature cycles promote the extraction of natural flavors from the oak. Prior to being coopered, the barrel wood is seasoned in open air, rain, wind, sun, and snow for eighteen months, softening the wood’s harsh tannins. The barrels are then slowly toasted and heavily charred to further enrich the wood’s desirable flavors. This meticulous process yields a truly hand-crafted spirit with aromas of crème brûlée and spice cabinet, as well as notes of rich caramel, dark chocolate, and vanilla bean on the palate with a sweet, lingering finish.

*Also available in Cask-Strength at distillery only.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla, light caramel, corn, musty oak, peaches with a hint of cherries and brown sugar.
Palate:  Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, light baking spices and black cherries.
Finish:  Moderate in length, slightly dry with a bit of oak, baking spices and cherries.
Comments:  A decent enough pour, although the corn on the nose and lack of depth on the palate would lead me to believe it is young (being non-age stated ‘straight’, this would be four years and a day). The nose is nice, with a bit more to offer than the palate, but appreciate that this doesn’t “taste like craft” to me.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Barrell Bourbon Batch 029

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Barrell Bourbon Batch 029

57.94% ABV
$90
Website
Barrell Bourbon Batch 029
We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

The base of Barrell Bourbon Batch 029 is an herbal and viscous blend of Indiana bourbons. The blend was expanded with 6 and 7-year-old rye-grain Kentucky bourbon, chosen for its exotic cinnamon spice note and floral 9 and 10-year-old wheated bourbon. Finally, a small amount of 6, 14, and 16-year-old Tennessee bourbon was added for a fruity nose and a long, oxidative finish.

  • A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
  • Distilled and aged in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana
  • Selection of 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, and 16-year-old barrels
  • Aged in American white oak barrels
  • Bottled in Kentucky
  • 115.88 proof cask strength bottling

FLAVOR NOTES
An initial burst of fruit: Williams pear and dried papaya on the nose, lime cordial on the palate; then a lengthy evolution through rye-driven mulling spices and rich oaky lactones. Ultimately, the profile settles comfortably into an array of dessert notes including treacle tart, milk chocolate, and Boal madeira.

​Neat
Appearance: Roasted pumpkin flecked with bright gold.
Nose: A classical opening of brown sugar-laced oatmeal and freshly conditioned leather. As you swirl a Glencairn glass, Williams pear, cantaloupe, and mulled wine develop. Curiously, from a rocks glass the evolution is more tropical, leaning rather toward tangerine, dried papaya, and mint tea with honeycomb. In either case, herbs soon follow — basil, dill, and wasabi powder. The aroma finally stabilizes into something resembling Pedro Ximenez sherry, displaying rosewater, treacle tart, and boiled cider.
Palate: Unmistakably cask strength. A bright, pithy lime cordial note is rounded out by Mirabelle plum and sugar snap pea. Once the palate has acclimatized, more traditional flavors of affogato, molasses, and roasted mixed nuts emerge.
Finish: A bold salinity tugs at the taste buds, calling soft pretzel to mind. As it fades, soft flavors of milk chocolate and shredded coconut wash over the palate.

With a few drops of spring water
Leafy aromas of tarragon, pandan and celery come to the fore. Nutritional yeast and roasted parsnip reveal a lightly savory dimension. Meanwhile the palate grows much darker in character, as espresso beans and ripe puerh tea dominate. Levity returns on the finish, with unexpected notes of guava and cherry blossom.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich vanilla, caramel, berries, cigar paper, leather, oak, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, a hint of minerality and tarragon.
Palate:  Rich and sweet toffee, chocolate, hazelnuts, light caramel, cinnamon, butterscotch, pepper spice and clove.
Finish:  Moderately long, damp with cocoa, honey and baking spices.
Comments:  Have yet to try a batch I didn’t like, but I really like this one; just right in my wheelhouse. Delicious neat although gets even better with some water, thickening and bringing out a note of peanut butter. A robust, unapologetically brash while nicely balanced bourbon.

Rating: Must Try

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