Penelope Bourbon has added a wheated bourbon to its core portfolio. This expansion adds a fifth bottle to their core product line: Four Grain, Barrel Proof, Toasted Barrel, and Architect. I am always excited to try new releases from Penelope since Michael (the founder) and I share the same name for our daughters. Let’s take a sip of the new core offering from Penelope Bourbon.
Just The Facts: Penelope Wheated Bourbon
- Price: $39.99
- Proof: 95
- Age: 4-6 years
- Mashbill: 74% corn | 7% rye | 16% wheat | 3% malted barley
- Style: Wheated Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Penelope Wheated Bourbon
- Nose: The nose is very welcoming. I was met with a warm cinnamon stick, caramel, orange zest and hint of nutmeg. This is very quintessential wheated bourbon on the nose to me.
- Palate: I try not to read too many reviews or listen to other people talk about whiskey before I write my reviews myself. However, I did read the quick review posted by Breaking Bourbon and one of their cons was astringent. That con was my first note on my first sip as well. I will explain why here momentarily. I believe that wheated bourbons do need some proof behind them, but not too much proof. I believe for them to realize their full potential the proof should fall between 100 – 110. This the sweet spot for wheated bourbon along with the need to be aged at minimum 6 years (the Steve Nally, Wyoming Whiskey rule). But I digress; we are here to talk about Penelope Wheated bourbon, not my thoughts on how I think wheated bourbons should be made. The sip was slightly thin on the mouthfeel but carried a bright punch of citrus and warm cinnamon. It didn’t have too many layers. The pour was very one-note for me.
- Finish: The end of the pour is what made up for the lack of complexity on the palate. I thought the finish was like a very dry Riesling. Notes of bright apple and cinnamon balanced by oak tannin make this feel more complete than I would have thought after having a sip.
Final Verdict
As you know we don’t score our ratings here. What I will tell you is that, I will try it again and see if my palate was just off for the night and if it was I will update my review. What I do think is that Penelope Wheated bourbon could use a little more age and little higher proof to make it a complete pour. The flip side to that is the overall cost of the bottle would change. Time will tell if this wheated bourbon grows on me.
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