REMUS REPEAL RESERVE
Batch VIII (2024)MASH BILL – blend of two: 67% is the 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley recipe / 33% is the 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley recipe
PROOF – 101
AGE – blend of 91% 10 year / 9% 17 year
DISTILLERY – Ross & Squibb (MGP’s pseudonym for its own releases)
PRICE – $87 (includes shipping)
WORTH BUYING? – Yes
REDEMPTION HIGH-RYE BOURBON
Batch 2 (2018)MASH BILL – 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley
PROOF – 114.4
AGE – 10 years
DISTILLERY – Deutche Family Wine & Spirits sourcing from MGP
PRICE – $92
WORTH BUYING? – Yes
In late 2024, MGP announced it would scale back whiskey production in 2025. Additionally, CEO David Bratcher resigned and CFO Brandon Gall was named Interim President and CEO. The press release gave no specific reason for this change beyond Bratcher’s plans to eventually retire.
The timing of Bratcher’s departure with the decision to scale back need not suggest anything shady. But it certainly points to what many have been pointing to recently ☞ the Bourbon Boom is quieting.
MGP is easily the single most notable source of high quality whiskey for American Non-Distiller Producers (NDPs). The list of NDPs that draw or have drawn from the MGP well is endless—e.g. Barrell, Maryland Heritage, Smoke Wagon to name but a few drops in the ocean. Many young distilleries sourced MGP at first, in order to have something to sell up front while their own distillates aged—e.g. High West, New Riff, Redwood Empire. And MGP puts out its own stuff under its Ross & Squibb moniker. So for this seemingly bottomless well of whiskey to announce it will scale back? The bourbon bubble is leaking for sure, and MGP evidently hopes to release some pressure to avoid a burst and bust.
And that’s fine. The market is flooded and pricing has long since gone whackadoodle. As a consumer, my hope is the over-production of recent years indeed means a sizable glut has accumulated, and that this will gradually bring prices back down closer to earth.
There have already been signs of this happening. Bundle deals have been ubiquitous since around 2022, as retailers try to move excess products by forcing customers to buy stuff they don’t want in order to get what they do want. And although distilleries and NDPs are still trying to cash in on the Boom while they can with an unlimited stream of pirate-priced “limited releases,” many have also been putting out whiskeys with great specs at decent prices. The George Dickel 15 Year can be found for $55 on average. Barton 1792 12 Year recently went from $60 to $80, still decent. And the Knob Creek 12 Year runs $65 or so on the regular.
But decently priced 10 and 12 year bourbons and ryes still leap up in cost when they’re allowed to age a handful more years. I’ve seen Knob Creek 18 Year going for $160. Elijah Craig 18 Year can be found for $180. George Dickel recently put out an 18 Year—just 3 years older than their standard 15 Year that goes for $55, mind you—for the utterly absurd msrp of $510. Good luck George! And why the extra $10 rather than an even $500? Now you’re just getting weird.
Meanwhile, good ol’ dependable MGP whiskey, despite the company scaling back production, will no doubt continue to be available in a variety of packagings and prices. Consumers really do have substantial options when it comes to MGP. So long as we study the labels before buying, we can discern the legit deals from the sneaky swindles.
Among my own current MGP selections, this bottle of Redemption 10 Year waited four years for me to give it a go. I bought it from a restaurant in 2020, in the very early days of the pandemic when restaurants were allowed to double as bottle shops to survive. Then recently I saw a handful of very dusty bottles of it on a local corner store shelf, priced just $10 more than what I paid five years ago. I went home and cracked it open.
Out of the gate, the familiar MGP cherry, oak, and cinnamon roll baking spice notes were all there. But the 114.4 proof seemed to singe everything with an overly burnt toast quality. I added some water and continued to sip at it, perusing online reviews.
I eventually found myself on an online shop’s website where they had MGP’s own Remus Repeal Reserve VIII on sale for $70, marked down from $90. With tax and shipping the total would be $87, still lower than I can generally find Remus Repeal Reserve locally. I figured what the heck!
Redemption and Remus Repeal Reserve represent the two distinct ways of handling MGP’s whiskey—sourced and from the source. They also differ significantly in proof and in the details of how each have been blended. Together, these two products make a nice comparison of the range of experiences to be had from MGP.
And so here we are. I’ll taste these in order of ascending proof, which puts the Remus up first. We’re five days after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
REMUS REPEAL RESERVE VIII
COLOR – pale sepia-toned amberNOSE – cherry and baking spices vying for front position, also sweet rye spice, then oak, caramel, bready pastry dough, chocolate, orange pulp
TASTE – cherry and caramel, the oak and baking spices following, the orange pulp, then a dash of black pepper arrives
FINISH – darker cherry submerged in the caramel notes, that dash of black pepper still amidst the baking spices, a faint bitter oak tannin underlining things subtly
OVERALL – bourbon goodness that’s both approachable and complex
This is good. It’s been too long since I’ve tasted the fabled Batch V to compare it to that, the generally accepted high-barre for Remus Repeal Reserve. But I’m perfectly content sipping Batch VIII. It offers no surprises. Just good classic bourbon notes, very well balanced. With 91% of it being 10 years old, that 9% 17-year in the mix adds just an extra bit of darker complexity to what I suspect would likely already have been perfectly good on its own.
And now the Redemption. We’re three weeks after uncorking and a handful of pours into the bottle. These brief notes were also taken using a traditional Glencairn.
REDEMPTION
COLOR – oranges that smolder like embersNOSE – at once thickly layered and yet restrained, with baking spices, rye spice, smooth oak, a fruity caramel, and something vaguely meaty like thick-cut bacon
TASTE – the fruity caramel immediately leans forward and some dark cherry and chocolate emerge with it, then gritty baking spice and black pepper made slightly prickly by the high proof
FINISH – dark cherry and thick caramel, oak and subtle bitter oak tannin, a thick dark chocolate sauce, solid warmth from the proof that verges on heat without flaring
OVERALL – dry, dark, sumptuous and simmering
Like its color, this bourbon is deep and smoldering. The sense of layers in the nose is remarkable. Things grow richer on the taste. The 114.4 proof now only threatens to distract, without ever fully pulling focus from the flavors. Then on the finish all is warm and cozy. A dark, broody bourbon with life and energy in it that’s held neatly in reserve.
Well, they’re both good. When I’m in the mood for something dark, broody, a touch gritty but still refined, I’ll reach for the Redemption. For a bourbon that’s entirely refined, with no inkling of burning the place down, I’ll reach for the Remus.
Nosing them now side by side, they are as relatable and yet as distinct as their color. The Remus is more forthcoming, while the Redemption holds back. Both offer similarly captivating aromas.
On the taste, back-to-back sips highlight their respective emphases. The Remus comes across as caramelly, fruity, bright and oaky, in basically that order of attention, while the Redemption comes across as chocolatey, spicy, oaky and fruity. The Remus leans sweeter while the Redemption leans drier.
I’m not concerned with ranking Remus VIII among its predecessors. It’s a good, well-aged, well-blended bourbon. And in terms of balancing tasting experience with price, I’d say I got it at a decent price, whether for 2025 or back in the thick of the Bourbon Boom’s frenzy. I’d like it even better at $70 without the tax and shipping! But I’m not complaining.
And I’m very glad to have this 2018 Redemption on hand, and happy to know that if I do eventually get a hankering for another bottle I can still find it at basically the same 2018 price. Though lacking the good marketing spec of a dollop of 17-year bourbon in the mix like the Remus, it wears its solid 10 years exceptionally well.
All that said, despite MGP scaling back in 2025, I don’t see myself buying either of these again, simply because there is still a lot of MGP out there. I have zero doubt more quality, well-aged MGP bourbons will come along, perhaps at even better prices. Time will tell. But in a time of glut, I’d say MGP fans can afford to be patient.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 