I’d like to thank ByrnePR and Ross & Squibb Distillery for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
Went to the doctor this morning for my yearly physical with labs. So far, everything's come back clean, except I need to lose a little weight and exercise more. That last bit, I already knew. I mean, I’m a middle-aged man in the Upper Midwest who loves bourbon, BBQ, beer, and pizza—comes with the territory. But still, I guess it's important to get everything checked out. You never know what might turn up in the labs, and once a year isn’t too bad, I suppose.
Unless you’re talking about the yearly fall bourbon releases, that is. Then, one could hope these things would come out more often. Especially tonight’s bourbon. I’m going to spill the beans right now and let you know this one is delicious.
This year, the team over at Ross & Squibb blended together three bourbons ranging from 10 to 17 years old. The blend includes 9% of the 17-year-old 21% rye mash bill bourbon and 24% of the 10-year-old 21% rye mash bill bourbon. But the majority of this (67%) blend is a higher rye, 36% rye mash bill bourbon. They also upped the proof by one point from previous years, going from 100° proof to 101° proof.
“We wanted to push the boundaries with this eighth edition by doing several things differently than in the past,” said Ross & Squibb Master Distiller Ian Stirsman. “We increased the proportion of the high-rye recipe bourbon compared to previous editions and returned to non-chill filtration to keep the viscosity and mouthfeel intact. We also blind-tasted the final blend at different proofs and found the 101 proof to be the favorite. These changes, along with our history of using the best barrels to create award-winning annual releases, are sure to make Remus Repeal Reserve Series VIII a memorable pour.”
And he isn’t wrong. I had a bottle of Series VII to sip on while on vacation, and this is distinctly better than last year, which is no knock on last year at all. But let’s just jump into the tasting notes before I finish my thoughts on this one.
Remus Repeal Reserve Series VIII
Purchase Info: This 200 mL sample was provided by the producer at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $99.99 for a 750 mL bottle.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $6.67
Nose: Floral and sweet with notes of caramel, vanilla, oak, chamomile, and almond.
Mouth: Caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, oak, and almond.
Finish: Medium length and warmth with lingering notes of cinnamon and oak.
Thoughts: As I said up top, this is delicious. I sipped on a bottle of last year's release over vacation (which was delicious and certainly added to the fun of a week on the Maine coast... and apparently is extremely available in Bangor—just FYI, I saw five bottles on the shelf), and this is even better. I love the sweet and floral nose. The mouth is sweet and rich, and the finish is warm and spicy. I'm a big fan and hope to find a bottle to put on my fancy whiskey shelf. This one gets a heart. I love it.
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