Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon Review

By and large, I may be one of the worst spirits writers out there to pitch with a product that is in any way, shape or form dependent upon some kind of marketing gimmick in order to drum up interest. I have an allergy to fluff; I can’t force myself to care particularly much about obscure historical backgrounds for your newest SKU. I’m the one skimming through the press release to find the details of what is actually in the bottle. But with that said, eventually a little bit of gimmickry is eventually going to come along perfectly tailored for any person, and with me that is absolutely the new release of Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon. This is a concept more impeccably designed and themed than anything I’ve seen in recent memory. Even the cork evokes a bat handle.

The new release from MGP of Indiana/Ross & Squibb house brand George Remus, Babe Ruth Reserve is dedicated to the legendary ball player and home run king in question. That would already be a fun theme for a lifelong MLB geek and avid fantasy baseball player like myself, but it’s the level of detail here that really seals the deal. This limited edition release comes in a run of 10,624 bottles, which works out to one for each of Ruth’s career plate appearances. When drinkers scan a QR code on the back of the bottle, they’re asked to enter their own bottle number, which will inform them of what Ruth did during that particular game. This gives the consumer a chance to hunt for “home run bottles,” or even more uncommon expressions.

Now, the perfect scenario would be if you could see exactly what Ruth had done in any given, specific at bat, but this ultimately isn’t possible thanks to a lack of detail in what happened in every at bat of every MLB game of the era–we know what a player like Ruth did in any given complete game via a box score, but not the results of every single at bat. Therefore, while every bottle represents a specific at bat, a “home run bottle” is just one where that at bat came during a game when Ruth hit one of his 714 career dingers. That works out to the following for this Remus Babe Ruth Reserve release:

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— 7,605 “plate appearance” bottles
— 2,537 “home run” bottles
— 324 “multi home run” bottles, from games where Ruth hit two or more bombs.
— 158 “milestone” bottles, from home run games that achieved career milestones.

Entering my own sample bottle number of #6487, I learn that it is a home run bottle that correlates to Thursday, June 7, 1928. As it reads: “Babe Ruth has 5 plate appearances for New York, going 1 for 5 against Cleveland with 1 home run.” My home run odds were pretty good, landing in this era in the middle of Ruth’s career, when the Yankees were fronting their “Murderer’s Row” lineup.

But now: What’s actually in this bottle? Remus Babe Ruth Reserve is a blend of three different high-rye bourbons to honor Ruth’s #3, carrying a moderate 6-7 year age statement and an advanced strength of 55.5% ABV (111 proof). The most notable thing about the liquid is actually the mash bills being used, as they include several MGP rye bourbon mash bills that rarely see the light of day–the more common 36% rye recipe, joined by even higher 44% and 49% rye recipes. That’s a pretty unusual dram right there, being an odd inversion of the traditional Kentucky rye whiskey recipe (51% rye). A 49% rye bourbon is something I’ve never really seen before, effectively the closest you can possibly get to being rye whiskey without crossing that symbolic and legal threshold. It carries a $150 MSRP, which is sure to be more of a point of contention given the lower age statement.

Or put another way: The theming is doing a lot of heavy lifting for any perception of value here, especially in comparison to well-established Remus products. Look no further than the annual Remus Repeal Reserve, which is often a favorite of mine. Last year’s 2023 expression of Remus Repeal Reserve was a blend of 9, 10 and 16-year-old MGP high-rye bourbons at 100 proof, for $100. This, on the other hand, is a blend of 6-7 year distillate at 111 proof, for $150. Obviously that’s a touch stronger, but I think it’s fair to say that most anyone evaluating those numbers while setting the theming aside would inevitably conclude that the Repeal Reserve represents a significantly stronger value. The Babe Ruth Reserve is relying more on the use of novel, less often seen MGP rye bourbon mash bills to generate intrigue among whiskey geeks and justify the price point, but I think that’s asking more than a mash bill is generally able to do. The fact of the matter is that no matter what, you’re paying extra for this limited edition status.

So with that said, let’s get to finally tasting this bottle.

On the nose, I’m getting layered fruit and lots of rye spice on the first passes of Remus Babe Ruth Reserve. Orange caramel creme stands out to me, along with sweet vanilla and herbal rye. Some charred oak pushes it into a roastier dimension, and there’s so much rye that it starts to take on more of an earthy and savory dimension as well–an almost mushroom/forest floor type note and distinctly fennel-like spice. You can certainly detect that this is an experiment in much higher rye presence mash bills.

On the palate this leads off with sweeter impressions of toffee and some honey, along with mint and orange citrus, into floral and herbal rye. Black tea maltiness is present, along with some tea-like tannin, before flavors that press on toward increasingly floral/herbal and roasty dimensions. A vegetal note of green bell pepper intertwines with black papper, fennel and charred wood, contributing mild astringency. Heavy rye grain runs throughout, really getting across the more herbal and “green” aspects of the grain. What it’s lacking is the greater maturity and cohesion of the Repeal Reserve bottlings–I would definitely like to see this spirit with a few more years on it, to see how these even higher percentage rye recipes might be tamed.

At the end of the day, this is one of those releases where it’s almost obligatory that you have to connect with the theming in order to have much interest. Despite the admittedly novel mash bills, a 6-7 year old bourbon blend from MGP of Indiana isn’t a terribly hard thing to come across for significantly less money than $150. But if you’re an MLB geek like myself, or an admirer of Babe Ruth, that’s a significant motivator. At the very least, I very much admire the care and thought that went into designing this bottle and its theme–a rare whiskey gimmick that I can absolutely get behind.

Distillery: MGP of Indiana (Luxco, Ross & Squib Distillery)
City: Lawrenceburg, IN
Style: Blend of straight bourbon whiskeys
ABV: 55.5% (111 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $150 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.