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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