Isn’t always nice when you meet a new friend. That’s what happened Wednesday night as Penelope Bourbon made their Ohio debut at the Central Ohio Whiskey Society meeting. Penelope has finally made their way into Ohio and you will find their bottles on the shelf now or very soon in Ohio. At the meeting we got to go through their entire lineup but for this review I will do a review of the Barrel Strength Toasted that was the favorite of the group by a small margin.

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NAME – Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength Toasted Series

PROOF – 114

AGE – non-age stated officially but says 4 – 6 years on the back of the bottle (Batch 62)

COLOR – browned butter (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

NOSE – Butterscotch pudding, vanilla bean, graham crackers, charred oak, worn leather

TASTE – Smoked salted caramel drizzle, almonds, dark chocolate, rye spice, cinnamon and black pepper. The sweetness starts out but then the spice builds.

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. The rye spice builds through the finish. Plenty of leather, oak and dark chocolate also.

REVIEW – This pour has a little of something for everyone. It has sweetness to satisfy the bourbon sweet tooth but has rye spice along with plenty of dark notes of oak, leather and dark chocolate. This has proof and you get it throughout the pour but it is pleasant for me but could see that it may be too hot for those that are not fans of high proof. I did think there would be some fruit notes show up but didn’t in this batch.

FINAL COMMENTS – Penelope Bourbon is known for the four-grain mashbill. How they achieve that is using 3 different mashbills from MGP. 45% wheat bourbon, 21% rye bourbon and then what I think creates their biggest difference is a 99% corn bourbon. For the toasted series they then use Toasted barrels that come from Speyside Cooperage and Kelvin Cooperage (both located in Kentucky).

Others in the series that we tried Wednesday was their Four Grain Standard selection that is a 80 proofer that is perfect for an entry bourbon that is full of sweetness and extremely easy to drink. The Barrel Proof is still the Four Grain but at the 114 proof point that is rich and flavorful. Architect is the latest release that comes in at 104 proof but then uses two styles of French oak staves working in collaboration with Tonnellerie Radoux of France. I would strongly suggest going out and finding pours of these and find which expression fits you best.