Review: Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon (Updated 2025)
George Herman Ruth, meet George Remus.
Two titans of the 1920s, cut from the same cloth of excess and exuberance. One swung a bat like thunder, the other poured bourbon like a monsoon. Ruth was the Sultan of Swat, a colossus of the ballfield whose appetite for nightlife was as legendary as his home runs. Remus, the self-styled “King of the Bootleggers,” held court in Cincinnati, tossing parties with the splendor of Gatsby and the boldness of Capone, where the bourbon flowed like a seventh-inning rally.
It’s easy to imagine the Babe bending an elbow in a smoky speakeasy, sipping contraband bourbon that may very well have traced its roots back to Remus’ wide-reaching empire. Two men, larger than life, whose indulgences mirrored an age that knew no moderation.
Fast-forward to 2024: Ross & Squibb Distillery out of Lawrenceburg, Indiana—already known for knocking it out of the park—unveiled Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Straight Bourbon, aged for 6 to 7 years. But now, in 2025, they’ve stepped back into the box with a bigger swing: the second edition boasts a bolder age statement of 8 to 9 years, and like the Babe himself, it’s coming out slugging.
Still clocking in at 111 proof, this edition is a blend of three mashbills—a nod to Ruth’s iconic jersey number, #3. Seventy-three percent of the blend hails from a 2017 vintage with a composition of 51% corn, 39% unmalted rye, and 10% malted rye, conveniently tallied on the label as 49% rye. Fifteen percent comes from a 2016 batch featuring a high-rye mashbill of 52% corn, 44% rye, and 4% malted barley, originally cooked up under contract for Old Dominick’s Huling Station. The remaining 12% is a 2017 classic MGP recipe of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley.
And here’s a nifty bit of box score magic: only 8,399 bottles have been released, mirroring Ruth’s career at-bats. Each bottle is individually numbered, and collectors can punch in their number online to reveal the Babe’s stat line from that specific plate appearance—a tip of the cap to history for fans of both whiskey and the Great Bambino.
With extra maturity in the barrel and a deeper, the 2025 Remus Babe Ruth Reserve asks a tantalizing question: could the King of the Bootleggers and the Sultan of Swing be the true thunder and lightning combo of the Jazz Age? Only one way to find out—pour a dram, tip your fedora, and let’s take a swing!
A review of the original 2024 release follows.
Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon 2025 Review
The 2025 Remus Babe Ruth Reserve steps into the box with poise. Right off the nose, it belts out blackcurrants and those golden-wrapped Werther’s Apple Caramels like a fastball down the middle. As it takes its warm-up cuts, juicy peaches and sweet cinnamon join the lineup—giving the nose a fruity-spiced double that bounces off the wall. It’s got presence, no doubt, and enough character to draw a crowd.
On the palate, it opens with creme brulee—a toasted note that makes a solid first impression—then comes a curveball in the form of roasted German pecans. Just when you think it’s all nuts and char, it drops a bit of honey and orange sherbet into the mix, giving it some late-inning flair. The finish slides in with another wave of cinnamon, followed by the cooling duo of black licorice and mint, then closes out with a fade of burnt caramel.
Compared to the 2024 vintage, this year’s edition shows it’s put on some weight in all the right places. That green, youthful edge from 2024? Benched. It’s matured nicely, and the difference in polish is clear. At $150, it’s still asking a bit more than league average—especially with Remus Repeal Reserve out there offering more age at a lower ticket price. But the Babe brings a different playbook to the field, with its trio of mashbills giving it a distinct roster. Not quite an apples-to-apples comparison—more like comparing Ty Cobb to Ruth: same sport, different style.
All told, the 2025 Babe Ruth Reserve is a strong hitter—solid wood on the ball, some real pop in the bat, and the kind of finish that rounds third with confidence. It’s a good pour in my ledger. At $125, I’d call it a stand-up double. At $150, it’s a bit of a stretch trying to steal third—but still worth tipping your cap.
111 proof. A- / $150 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon 2024 Review
The Babe sure likes his whiskey, right? This official partnership with the estate of Babe Ruth has netted a limited edition whiskey blended from three high-rye bourbons aged 6 to 7 years old, produced in 2016 (12%), 2017 (70%), and 2018 (18%). They’re very high-rye bourbons, actually, consisting of 49% rye, 44% rye, and 36% rye in the mash, respectively. For all that rye, this is a surprisingly soft, approachable experience, a showcase of soft, bready cereal on the nose, melded with buttery baked apples, doused in cinnamon and some cocoa powder.
Gentle mint notes evoke a julep, or at least the base for a good one. The palate raises the spice ambitions of the whiskey, at least to a degree, and the 55.5% abv punch makes itself fairly well-known. Here the cinnamon finds an ample companion in red pepper notes, bright orange peel, and a spiced pecan note on the palate. Mexican chocolate informs a lengthy, increasingly racy finish, again hinting at notes of mint.
It’s fun stuff, but not nearly as fun as the ephemera for the whiskey. 10,624 bottles were produced, one for each of the Babe’s plate appearances. Scan the QR code on the back label and you can find out how Ruth did at your bottle number’s specific plate appearance. Well, almost: For mine, bottle #6,499 was part of a multi-home-run game – though oddly the website doesn’t tell me exactly what happened on that specific at-bat. Probably struck out. Sheesh. –Christopher Null
111 proof. A- / $150 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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