I like the whiskeys that Penelope is putting out. They are owned by MGP and are getting good barrels of whiskey from MGP. This particular whiskey is a four grain Bourbon with corn, rye, wheat and malted barley. It is bottled at barrel strength and non-chill filtered. I picked up a bottle the other day and Matt and I sat down to taste it. Here are our tasting notes.

Penelope Barrel Strength Bourbon

Proof: 114

Age: Four Years Old

Nose:

  • Mike: Caramel, apples, dates, white pepper and oak wood.
  • Matt: Vanilla cream with a floral note, strawberries and oak wood.

Taste:

  • Mike: Caramel, apples, white pepper, nutmeg and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and it becomes very peppery. Tasted with a pecan and there are flavors of butterscotch, dates and white pepper with oak wood.
  • Matt: Vanilla with a floral note, strawberry shortcake and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out cherries. The pecan made the vanilla a rich caramel with peanuts and cherries.

Finish:

  • Mike: Medium long with oak wood and white pepper. The dried cranberry made the finish long and spicy with lots of white pepper. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood, white pepper and lingering butterscotch.
  • Matt: Medium long with oak wood, vanilla and strawberries. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with oak wood and cotton candy. The pecan made the finish very long with oak wood, vanilla cream and cherries.

I would pair this Bourbon with Undercrown Maduro cigar. It has a dried fruit note to the smoke that would pair well with the Bourbon, bringing out the fruit notes of the whiskey.

penelope bourbon

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller