The Rebel range has undergone something of sneaky mini-rebrand over the course of the pandemic. It’s still apparently rebellious – just now with less yelling about it. The original version of Rebel 100 – Rebel Yell 100 - launched in April 2019 as the range’s second higher strength wheated bourbon – but at around $25 a bottle, its price point was considerably cheaper than the other expression - the 10 year old single barrel expression released in 2016 and costing $60 at that time.
Rebel 100 is made from a mashbill that includes 20% wheat (the remainder is rumoured to be 68% corn and 12% barley). As a sourced bourbon the barrels likely comes from Heaven Hill’s stocks – and therefore there are likely some casual relationships to Heaven Hills own entry-point wheated bourbon – Larceny. Though side-by-side reviews have noted considerable profile differences between the two, and so it should not be thought of any type of long-lost cousin. There’s plenty of cask variance that’s possible within a distillery regardless of similar/identical mashbills.
The RRP for Rebel 100 is listed as being around £35.
Nose: Immediately creamy with toffee formed from condensed milk, freshly planed oak and milk chocolate. Peach halves join split vanilla pod, dried reeds and grasses, whilst cloves and cinnamon sit alongside palpable barrel char. Dilution reveals darker fruits – blackberries and plums – together with cocoa powder.
Taste: A saccharine arrival of brown sugars, caramel and butterscotch is offset by vanilla-imbued cherries and perky nutmeg and anise cask spice. Toasted digestive biscuit crumbs sit with nut bread whilst cooking apples and steeped black tea develop. Water thins this out quickly, so go sparingly. It adds brandy snaps and a host of cask-led vanillins.
Finish: Medium with toffee, oak shavings and spent coffee grounds.
Rebel 100 is eminently drinkable. It’s perhaps more cask-forward than I would ideally prefer, but nevertheless, the distillate character and natural sweetness shines through throughout. The profile is relatively narrow and there’s some hydrophobia here – however there’s also some solid versatility here and the expression would be suited to both drinking neat and mixing. Priced alongside other 100 proof bourbons here in the UK this stands up – though it’s a shame to see such a markup over the great value dollar price for this bottle.
Review sample provided by Chapman Poole