Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Penelope Bourbon · Penelope Bourbon (sourced, blended in Kentucky)
Penelope's barrel-strength expression is a masterclass in four-grain blending at full power. The interplay between wheat's pillowy softness and rye's assertive spice creates a twilight tension — neither element fully dominates, producing a bourbon of shifting, liminal beauty. At nearly 118 proof it never bullies; it envelops. Perfect for the cusp-of-evening contemplation this issue celebrates.
Nose
The first breath unfurls like a dusky horizon — waves of toasted brown sugar and baking spice yield to roasted pecans, dried apricot, and a thread of pipe tobacco. Beneath it all, a warm leather-and-oak foundation anchors the sweetness, giving it gravitas as the glass opens.
Palate
Full-bodied and layered, the entry is buttery caramel that darkens quickly into charred oak and espresso. Midpalate, cinnamon bark and allspice weave through candied cherry and a surprising note of dark cocoa. The four-grain mashbill lends a velvety wheat-softness that rounds the rye-driven spice into something harmonious — complexity that deepens with each sip like the last light thickening before nightfall.
Finish
Long and warming, with smoldering oak, maple sweetness, and a lingering echo of toasted coconut and black pepper that slowly fades like embers at the edge of evening.
- Mash Bill
- 75% corn, 7% rye, 15% wheat, 3% malted barley (blend of three bourbon mash bills)
- Barrel Type
- New charred American oak, #4 char staves, #2 char heads
- Bottled in Bond
- No
- Single Barrel
- No
- Wheated
- No
Cocktail Suggestion
The Gloaming Old Fashioned — 2 oz Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength · 1 barspoon Demerara syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · 1 dash black walnut bitters · Expressed orange peel · Combine bourbon, Demerara syrup, and both bitters in a mixing glass with large ice. Stir for 30 seconds until well-chilled and silky. Strain over a single large ice cube in a rocks glass. Express the orange peel over the surface, run it along the rim, and nestle it against the ice. Sip as the light fades. · Glass: Rocks glass
Food Pairing
The bourbon's charred oak and dark cocoa notes mirror the smoky, caramelized crust of the duck, while its candied cherry and brown spice cut through the richness of the fat. The black cherry gastrique's sweet-tart acidity bridges to the bourbon's fruit notes and amplifies the spice on the finish — a pairing that deepens as both cool slightly on the plate and in the glass.
Penelope Bourbon was born from an unlikely origin — founders Michael Paladini and Danny Polise, neither from traditional distilling families, named it after Paladini's daughter. Their four-grain recipe (corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley) is a deliberate exercise in complexity over convention, blending multiple aged stocks to achieve a profile greater than any single barrel. The barrel-strength release strips away dilution's veil, revealing the raw architecture of that four-grain interplay. It's a bourbon built for that in-between hour when daylight's certainties give way to the richer, more layered truths of evening.
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