I first heard of Penelope Bourbon a couple years back when someone brought some to a cigar shop one afternoon while I was there. I tried it, liked it, but didn’t actually end up buying it later on simply for the reason that I couldn’t remember what expression it was that I had tried…and the whole line seemed to be a bit on the costy side. I put it down as a brand I wanted to get experience with, but didn’t know where to start. Earlier this year, they produced a Wheated bourbon that would retail in the mid-$30 range. I got to try it a couple weeks before it came to my favorite local store, and bought a bottle immediately when they did get it in.
Penelope Wheated is a four-grain bourbon, adding wheat to the mash bill instead of just replacing the rye completely. According to their website it is 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley. It is aged 4 to 6 years and bottled at 95 proof, which they describe as “the ideal balance between boldness and drinkability.”
The first thing you may notice is that the picture accompanying this review shows an almost empty bottle…that’s because I like this pour so much I almost drank all of my second bottle before deciding I should write it up. In the glass, the Penelope Wheated is a medium amber color that has mildly sweet fruit notes and some oak on the nose. It is definitely sweet up front when you take a sip, with huge caramel and honey notes washing across your tongue, followed by subtle vanilla and citrus. There was a little sweet cinnamon on the finish by means of a nicely lingering tingle.
As I noted before…I really like this bourbon. It’s a definite “must buy” for me, especially at the MSRP of about $35. I saw it at another store in town for closer to $55 and turned it down…there’s simply no reason to pay a huge markup on something that is widely distributed for a known price. In the pantheon of wheated bourbons I enjoy, I would put this below Maker’s Mark Cask Strength or Special Proof, Larceny Barrel Proof, or Maker’s 46, but above standard Maker’s, Larceny Small Batch, or Weller Special Reserve. I love the soft sweetness that the wheated mash bill brings, but the slightly spicy after effects of the remaining rye in the mix.
