Stellum Single Barrel Rye, Serpens Release (as Selected by Ace Spirits)

Tonight’s whiskey, a store pick of Stellum Single Barrel Rye, is the lone remaining Stellum release that we haven’t covered yet. We’d done the regular Stellum Bourbon and Rye, the Stellum Black Bourbon and Rye and the Stellum Single Barrel Bourbon previously so it’s probably time to finish out the lineup. This particular bottle is from the “Serpens” release of single barrels. The Serpens barrels were selected in Spring and Summer 2021 and have a mash bill of 95% Rye, 5% malted Barley.

We’ve covered Stellum brand story previously, but the brief version of the brand is that it is created by the same folks that produce the Barrell line of whiskies. Like that brand, Stellum is sourced from multiple distilleries in multiple states and then blended to make a unique product. Seeing how this bottle is a single barrel, it is labeled as having been distilled in Indiana. Based on that and the mash bill, we can probably make an assumption as to which very large distillery it came from.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Stellum Single Barrel Rye, Serpens Release (as Selected by Ace Spirits)

Purchase Info: $50 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 58.31% ABV. Selections made in the Spring and Summer of 2021. Mash bill: 95% Rye, 5% Barley Malt. Distilled in Indiana.

Nose: Mint, cedar, cherry, butterscotch, molasses, and ginger.

Mouth: Rich and spicy with notes of cinnamon, molasses, ginger, cedar, and mint.

Finish: Long and warm. Big-time notes of cedar, mint, and cinnamon.

Thoughts: This is the store pick so good that I made the hour roundtrip drive to Ace Spirits twice in order to procure a second bottle of it. Probably should have grabbed two the second time, but what are you going to do? I've liked everything I've had out of the Stellum line-up and this is no exception. Very happy with this one. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it is a cask-strength bottle of MGP 95% Rye. And as that is my favorite whiskey on the planet, I might be just a little biased.

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Rossville Union 2022 Barrel Proof

I’d like to thank ByrnePR and the Ross & Squib Distillery for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

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Image elements courtesy Ross & Squibb Distillery.

Tonight is the NFL Draft. And while I only sort of follow NFL football, I am a college football diehard. And this is one event that cements the two together. And I love it. I used to watch the entire weekend way back when it was just Saturday and Sunday. I love it because I get to see the culmination of many of the storylines that ESPN has force-fed to us over the last few years on their college football shows. Whether it proves those stories correct or incorrect is part of what I find interesting. Team X decided to go with somebody from North Dakota State instead of an SEC or Big Ten powerhouse? Which paid shill is going to throw the biggest fit over that? The unintended drama is fun. Plus I like seeing kids have all their dreams come true.

And yes, I’m old enough that I refer to kids in their mid-20s as “kids.”

And what does that have to do with tonight’s whiskey? Well, for the longest time, MGP (now branded as Ross & Squibb) was a powerhouse in American Whiskey much like North Dakota State is a powerhouse in college football. There is no argument that they dominate their competition, but you’d have to be a pretty knowledgeable fan to know about it.

MGP supplied whiskey for the biggest rye brands in the country. Think Diageo’s Bulleit rye as an example. But they didn’t get much credit for that outside of hardcore fans. Mostly because no one wanted to tell anyone that what was in the bottle was purchased from a distillery in Indiana. These days that is changing as Ross & Squibb have their own brands that they produce. One of which is Rossville Union Rye.

Rossville Union is a rye that I find on the shelves quite often. I also see a lot of store picks of it as well. They tend to be very delicious. I pick them up quite often. There is a Barrel Proof offering that I really like but seldom see. And that’s because I recently learned that it is released annually as a limited edition product. (It’s probably good that I didn’t know that, or I’d have spent a lot more money on Rossville Union seeing as I would actually be purchasing those bottles when I saw them instead of saying “next time.”)

18,000 bottles were produced this year from a batch of 82 barrels. The final proof is 117.2° proof, it is age stated at 7 years old, and it retails for a suggested price of $69.99. Let’s see how it tastes.

Rossville Union 2022 Barrel Proof

Purchase Info: This sample bottle was sent to me by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: 58.6% ABV. 7 years old.

Nose: Herbal mint, cinnamon candies, cedar, and oak

Mouth: Hot, spicy, and sweet. Notes of herbal mint, cinnamon, cedar, vanilla, and hints of dark chocolate.

Finish: Long and warm. Notes of cinnamon candies, cedar, and mint.

Thoughts: This is delicious. So much so that, should I see them and if the store allows, I will be a jerk and buy two. Rossville Union 2022 Barrel Proof is just a deliciously-spicy rye that has enough age to notice but not so much that it takes over. I freakin’ love this one.

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Copper & Cask Single Barrel Rye, Top Ten Liquors Selection

About a month ago, I had the world’s tiniest cheese fire in my oven. A pizza had dripped a little too much and…poof, up it went. The oven hasn’t really worked correctly since. Which kinda sucks. Nothing like baking something only to hear your oven shut off halfway through.

Well, it finally kicked the bucket yesterday. I shut it off, and it lost power. Never to turn back on. Or so I hope, I hate that oven. But I spent way too much on it to want to get rid of it. But I am doing my due diligence by having a former co-worker of my wife, who happens to be an appliance repair person, come over and pronounce judgment on the soul of the stove. If it can be resurrected, yay! I don’t have to spend lots of money on a replacement. If it can’t, yay! I get rid of something I really don’t like. Either way, I’m going to be both pissed off and extremely happy.

In the meantime, I get to cook outside. My wife had me set up an outdoor kitchen last summer with a propane burner, a pellet grill, and some prep tables. Thankfully, the weather has been above freezing. It may not have been worth it to cook a box of mac n cheese outside if it had gotten too cold. Tonight I’m testing out the pellet grill as an outdoor oven for a pan of lasagna. I’m going on the assumption that using the Yoder as an outdoor oven will work just fine. Even if I do get a bit of a smoked flavor on the lasagna. So if nothing else, I’ll learn some things about my secondary kitchen setup.

If you squint a bit, you could see tonight’s whiskey in the same light. I’d gone into the store looking to grab more of the bourbon that I reviewed last week. But even though I was in the same chain, I was in a different location. I was a bit bummed until I saw this bottle of Copper & Cask Straight Rye Whiskey. It was also MGP, also a store pick, also cask strength. I mean, I was pretty sure that everything would turn out great. I love MGP 95% rye. I love it even more at cask strength. But, who knows right? I’d only had one bottle of any whiskey from the collaboration in the past, maybe that bourbon was a one-off fluke. But I picked it up anyway. If nothing else, I’d learn a bit more about the brand, the store, or both.

Copper & Cask Single Barrel Rye, Top Ten Liquors Selection

Purchase Info: $49.96 for a 750 ml bottle at Top Ten Liquor, Chanhassen, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 54% ABV. Barrel #: MI-136. Distilled in Lawrenceburg, IN. Filled: Dec. 2015, Bottled: Oct. 2021, 5 years old. Mash bill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley.

Nose: Cedar, mint, almond, and cinnamon.

Mouth: Spicy. Notes of cinnamon, almond, and cedar.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Notes of mint, cinnamon, and cedar.

Thoughts: Cask-strength MGP rye is very possibly my favorite pour. And this was an affordable bottle. Two great things that go great together. I really like this one. Probably not enough to go buy a case of it for the closet, but that mostly comes down to my wife not being nearly the fan of 95% rye that I am. I am hoping to grab a couple more bottles before they are out though.

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Copper & Cask Single Barrel Bourbon, Top Ten Liquors Selection

Before we begin, I’d like to acknowledge that there are way more important things going on in the world today than talking about Bourbon. The news out of Eastern Europe is heartbreaking. And knowing that I have occasional readers from Ukraine, I just want to say that I hope you are currently, and remain safe.

Those of you who have been around the Bourbon World for a while will remember a time when Willett Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Bourbons and Ryes were affordable, but always delicious whiskeys. They stopped being affordable so long ago now that I’m not actually sure they are still making them. When prices passed $200 in the gift shop, they fell off of my radar. But back in the day, I really enjoyed picking up a 5- or 6-year old bottle of Bourbon for $50 or less whenever I visited Kentucky. Sure it was sourced, but the people they were sourcing from make delicious whiskey. And the folks at Willett have a fantastic ability to choose delicious single barrels. Excuse me while I reminisce about the “good old days.”

Actually no. I’m of the opinion that we are still in the midst of the good old days of bourbon. Sure, the prices were lower a decade or more ago, but there was comparatively little variety. I used to be able to keep a list in my head of which bourbon was cheaper at which store. Now I have a hard time remembering all the brands that a single store carries. I mostly brought Willett up because I recently picked up a store-pick of Copper & Cask Bourbon that reminded me of those old Willett bottles.

There is very little about Copper & Cask online. The label is owned by Latitude Beverage Co. out of Rhode Island. They are an independent bottler/rectifier with an extensive wine portfolio and a few spirits brands under their belt. The bottle of bourbon I picked up was sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. According to the back of the bottle, the juice inside is MGP’s 21% Rye bourbon mashbill. It is non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength. Best of all, I got it for under $50.

This particular bottle was part of a barrel selected by Top Ten Liquors here in the Twin Cities. According to store employees, it is the best of the three barrels of bourbon that they have selected from Copper & Cask. So keep that under advisement as you read my thoughts on this particular bottle. Your mileage may vary.

Copper & Cask Single Barrel Bourbon, Top Ten Liquors Selection.

Purchase Info: $49.96 for a 750 mL bottle at Top Ten Liquors, Rosemount, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 56% ABV. Barrel number: MK-152. Filled June 2015, bottled October 2021, 6 years old. Mash bill: 70% Corn, 21% Rye, 9% Malted Barley.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, almond, and wintergreen.

Mouth: Nice and spicy. Notes of caramel, vanilla, wintergreen, and almond.

Finish: Medium length and warm. Notes of cinnamon and oak.

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Thoughts: This is so delicious that I went back and grabbed a case for the ol’ whiskey closet. It’s a very good, cask-strength MGP bourbon. And like I said, it reminds me of bottles that you could get from Willett circa 2012: top-quality sourced MGP bottled at cask strength. That’s a recipe that is darn hard to beat.

Keep in mind though, your mileage may vary, this is both a single barrel product and a store pick. I’m looking forward to finding other bottles of this in the future just to see how the quality varies.

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Whiskey News Roundup for September 30, 2021

This is the first of what is going to be an ongoing series for BourbonGuy.com. As you might imagine, I get a lot of press releases in my inbox. I thought it might be neat to periodically share some of those that I find the most interesting along with a little commentary on them. I hope you enjoy these posts. I spend way too much time reading whiskey news to not share.

Four Roses Announces Mini Bottles of Two Bourbons

NEWS: After quietly retiring their 50 mL bottles of Four Roses Single Barrel, Four Roses announced this month that they will be offering 50 mL bottles of both their Small Batch and Small Batch Select Bourbons. These bottles are available at most retailers that sell the 750 mL bottles. Locally they sell for $5.99 for the Small Batch and $7.99 for the Small Batch Select.

COMMENTARY: This is the kind of thing that I wouldn’t have usually found that interesting, except for one thing. I never was able to get a Four Roses bottle on the Whiskey Party Lights that I made. Single Barrel had a small cork. No way to hang it from the lights. According to Brent Elliott, these new minis will have screw caps that I’ll be able to drill through. What’s that? You don’t have any Whiskey Party lights? You should make some, it’s a fun and easy project. 

Samuels House Now Available for Overnight Accommodations

NEWS: Rob Samuels, Managing Director of Maker’s Mark and grandson of the brand’s founder, has opened the historic Samuels home for rent. Currently operated under the name Samuels House, it was built around 1820 by Samuels family forefather John Samuels. The property remained with the family until the 1950s. Now, back in family hands, it has been renovated and opened for rent to overnight guests. According to the press release: “Although equipped with modern conveniences and luxury amenities, the house’s original detail and character have been preserved to showcase the history of the Maker’s Mark dynasty. Never before seen personal family artifacts, including the deep fryer used to create the iconic red wax tendrils and a hand-made bar with whisky spanning 150 years of Samuels family distilling, ensures a really special experience for bourbon enthusiasts.”

COMMENTARY: If I had the money, I would love to stay here while visiting Bardstown. Not sure I can swing $1250-1500 per night on a freelancer’s budget, but if you do, this seems like a fun way to spend that cash. I love old houses and, for me, the whiskey history would just be icing on the cake. And man, do those sofas look comfy.

MGP Distillery Gets a New Name

NEWS: As of September 29, 2021, the consumer brands portion of the MGP distillery will go by the name of Ross & Squibb Distillery. The new name highlights the history of the distillery location. According to the press release: “Ross” is inspired by the legacy of George Ross, who in 1847 founded the Rossville Distillery, located on what is now the Ross & Squibb Distillery campus. Considered one of Lawrenceburg’s original distilleries and one of America’s last Prohibition-era distilleries, Rossville Distillery produced some of the finest rye whiskeys in the world and was the inspiration for the Rossville Union Straight Rye Whiskey brand. “Squibb” calls back to the historic Squibb Distillery, founded in 1869 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and later purchased in 1921 by George Remus, King of the Bootleggers® and inspiration for the George Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey brand.” Bulk production of whiskey and other spirits will continue onsite under the current name, MGPI of Indiana, LLC.

COMMENTARY: What does this mean for the whiskey consumer? Probably not a lot. I know I’m not going to rush to update the MGP tag at the bottom of this page. I’m almost positive that in casual conversation I’ll still use the quick MGP instead of the longer Ross & Squibb. Though you may see written references to Ross & Squibb on the site if I quote from a press release for one of their products. Basically, this is a consumer-facing example of the merger of MGP and Luxco. As the Luxco portion of the combined company now handles the consumer brands that MGP brought to the merger (Remus, Rossville, etc), it only makes sense from a marketing perspective to brand everything they can to help tell their story. Does this mean we can look forward to the future announcement of an upcoming visitor experience in Lawrenceburg, IN? No word on that yet, but it wouldn’t terribly surprise me now that the distillery has a consumer-friendly name and logo.

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Remus Repeal Reserve Series V

I’d like to thank ByrnePR and Lux Row for providing the review sample with no strings attached.

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Thanks to the magic that is Comixology Unlimited, I’ve found myself reading a lot of old comic books lately. For as long as I remember reading, I remember reading comic books. I’ve always read a wide variety of books. From novels to history textbooks, the fantastic to the non-fiction. I just love stories. I love reading them and I love writing them. It’s one of the reasons I start these reviews with as many personal anecdotes as I do. But comic books were always there in the mix of my reading choices. Lately, I’ve been digging deep into DC’s Vertigo lineup from the late 1980s and early 90s. I was too young to read these when they came out, but I was introduced to the Sandman in college and have revisited it periodically over intervening decades. Sometimes it’s nice to revisit something that you just know is going to be good.

I feel that way about tonight’s bourbon too. I’ve reviewed every iteration of Remus Repeal Reserve and I’ve liked every single one. MGP makes fantastic whiskey, even if their choice of namesake leaves a bit to be desired. (Speaking of rereading old content, I wrote about George Remus way back in 2017 during the first release of this product. I think it was pretty good. If you haven’t read it before, give it a look.)

Series V of Remus Repeal Reserve is a medley of two different MGP produced bourbons, their 21% Rye recipe (mash bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley malt) and their 36% Rye recipe (mash bill: 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% barley malt). They use a combination of ages of these recipes in order to make the final product. And as usual, they give you the percentage breakdown right on the front label. Series V is made from 9% 2005 Bourbon (21% Rye), 5% 2005 Bourbon (36% Rye), 19% 2006 Bourbon (21% Rye), 13% 2008 Bourbon (21% Rye) and 54% 2008 Bourbon (36% Rye).

Let’s dive in and see how it tastes.

Remus Repeal Reserve Series V, 2021

Purchase price: This sample was graciously provided by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $89.99. Releases September 2021.

Price per Drink (50mL): $6.00

Nose: Green apple, clove, caramel, nutmeg, and oak.

Mouth: Nice and spicy. Cinnamon, oak, caramel, and almond.

Finish: Spicy and long. Nutmeg, almond, black tea, oak, and caramel.

Thoughts: This is one to keep an eye out for. I've been a big fan of most editions of Remus Repeal Reserve, and I'm fully aware this might be recency bias, but I think this might be the best yet. This one is getting a heart. I love it and I'm really hoping to get my hands on another bottle when it releases in September.

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Obtainium Light Whiskey - Zipp's Liquor pick

You have the recommendation of a very good friend to thank for tonight’s whiskey. Because, when he recommended it I knew nothing about the brand and i would have looked right past a bottle with Light Whiskey emblazoned crossed the label. Luckily for me, I trust this guy’s taste in whiskey and immediately ran out and bought a bottle.

Now why would I have walked past a light whiskey? What even is a light whiskey? Well, let’s consult the Code of Federal Regulations/Standards of Identity and see what they have to say.

(3) “Light whisky” is whisky produced in the United States at more than 160° proof, on or after January 26, 1968, and stored in used or uncharred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies. If “light whisky” is mixed with less than 20 percent of straight whisky on a proof gallon basis, the mixture shall be designated “blended light whisky” (light whisky—a blend).

So in essence, light whiskey distillate is made from a grain mash and is somewhere between straight whiskey (distilled lower than 160° proof) and neutral grain (distilled at 190° proof). There is some grain flavor left in it, but not as much as you’d have in a bourbon. Which is why I probably would have passed this by. I like flavor. It is one of the reasons I like bourbon and rye more than vodka.

So what do we know about this particular light whiskey?

Well the brand name is Obtainium, a new label here in Minnesota. Obtainium is a line of sourced whiskey from the Cat’s Eye Distillery in Bettendorf, Iowa, one of the five Quad Cities that span the Iowa/Illinois border (yes, there are 5 cities in the Quad Cities…I’d make an Iowa joke, but I’ll just leave it at that). In any case, these guys seem to be doing the sourced whiskey thing right. Printed right on the side of the bottle is “Distilled on 12/13/2006 by Lawrenceberg Distillers Indiana.” It isn’t very often that you see a sourced whiskey call out their supplier. And I, for one, really appreciate that. So since LDI was the former name of MGP, we know that this is a 14 year old MGP Light Whiskey. And because we know that, we know that the mash bill is 99% corn and 1% malted barley. We also know that this bottling doesn’t have the up to 19% straight whiskey blended into it as this particular bottling was a store single barrel pick by Zipps Liquors in Minneapolis.

So, a 14-year-old single barrel MGP whiskey at barrel strength? I’m very glad that i got this recommendation.

Obtainium Light Whiskey-Zipps Liquor Pick

Purchase Info: $54.99 for a 750 mL bottle, Zipps Liquor, Minneapolis, MN.

Price per Drink (50mL): $3.67

Details: 69.7% ABV. 14 years old. Barrel#: SC-00094. Distilled by Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (now MGP) on 12/13/2006. Bottled on 2/5/2021.

Nose: Beautifully sweet toffee and chocolate.

Mouth: Hot and sweet. Toffee, chocolate, nuts and nutmeg.

Finish: Hot and long. The heat fades quickly though leaving behind notes of nutmeg, ginger, mint and toffee.

Thoughts: I really, really like this. It reminds me of some of the really good Canadian whiskies that I've had. It is super sweet and dangerously drinkable when served neat. A little water brings out even more sweetness and lowered the heat levels a bit. I'm going to have to take a look at some of the other offerings from this brand. Stay tuned.

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George Remus Single Barrel - 2020 Ace Spirits Selection

Store Selection Spring continues with a Single Barrel version of George Remus. This particular bottle was purchased at Ace Spirits in March of 2021 and was selected in 2020.

For years, MGP Ingredients was the source distiller behind many of the brands that consumers would see on the shelf. They make a ton of whiskey and made their business selling that whiskey to other people to bottle. And since they make damn good whiskey, they helped launch numerous labels across the country for other companies. Eventually they bought one of those labels, George Remus, and released it themselves. At that point, George Remus became only the second whiskey brand released by MGP in its own right. Along the way they expanded the lineup to include Remus Repeal Reserve, an annual limited edition release.

In January of 2020, I got a press release detailing that they were opening a George Remus single barrel program to retailers. They would be pre-selling barrels from January through March and that the bottles would start to arrive to retailers in August or September. This would be an annual offering to retailers and would only be open to participation for a limited time each year. There would be two mash bills to choose from, 21% Rye/75% Corn/4% Malted Barley and 36% Rye/60% Corn/4% Malted Barley, though it doesn’t seem that there was a space to specify which mash bill was in a particular bottle. And the offering would be sold at barrel strength. It all sounded great. But as the whiskey wouldn’t show up for eight to nine months, I promptly forgot about that press release until I saw the bottle pictured above sitting on the shelf in Ace Spirits.

Let’s see how it tastes.

George Remus Single Barrel - 2020 Ace Spirits Selection

Purchase Price: $63.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Price per Drink (50mL): $4.27

Details: One of two MGP mash bills (21% Rye/75% Corn/4% Malted Barley or 36% Rye/60% Corn/4% Malted Barley) which of the two is undisclosed. 62.75% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, cotton candy, and citrus.

Mouth: Nice and warm. Sweet. Follows the nose with caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of citrus.

Finish: Long and warm. Lingering notes of cinnamon, cotton candy, caramel, and some oak.

Thoughts: This is really good. I had expected that a barrel-strength MGP bourbon would be good and I wasn’t disappointed. It is warm, spicy and sweet with just a touch of fruit. Very good. Water brings out more sweetness which you may or may not prefer. I prefer it neat (in small sips to avoid burning out my palate on 125.5° proof bourbon), my wife prefers it with water. This is yummy enough that I will certainly keep my eye open for other stores that might have done a barrel pick of this to see any differences. If I find one, maybe I’ll report back.

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