MGP Announces 14 Year Remus Volstead Reserve

Note: This post was updated 7/13 with the mash bill

Indiana-based MGP has announced a new bottled-in-bond bourbon called Remus Volstead Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey releasing in November of 2019. Strangely, this is being marketed as coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment outlawing the production and distribution of alcoholic spirits.

Vice President of Brands, MGP Ingredients andrew Mansinne states:

"Prohibition launched an era of social change which created legends such as George Remus, King of the Bootleggers, and a speakeasy culture that persists to this day. Remus Volstead Reserve is made from our finest 14-year aged reserves and has spent the same time in barrel as this country spent under Prohibition. Like this singular historic era, our Volstead Reserve is one-of-a-kind."

The Remus Volstead Reserve comes in with a $199 MSRP for a 750ml bottle and is designed for collectors with a high-end, individually numbered glass bottle and commemorative box. The mash bill is a mixture of several bourbon batches with a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley mashed and distilled during the Fall season of 2005.

MGP has announced that no more than 500 9-liter cases will be available and this is a one-time release available in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. It is bottled at 100 proof (50% alcohol) and the tasting notes are:

Nose: Dried candied fruit, caramelized pecans, oak, char and tobacco
Taste: Rich oak flavors dominate the forward palate and body of this bourbon. Balanced cherry and caramel touches
Finish: Notes of leather and spice round out the finish, and oak and barrel char notes

Our Take

My first reaction is how strange it is to celebrate the repeal of alcohol and aligning this with the 18th Amendment and 100th anniversary of the Volstead Act. Regardless of the reason, this could be a neat option for collectors. At the $200 price point, that is who this release is geared towards. I'll be following this as we come closer to the November release date.

Source: MGP