Penelope "Classic Series" Bourbon & Rye Whiskey Reviews

 

Two childhood friends, Mike Paladini and Daniel Polise, along with Mike’s wife, Kerry, went into business together and created their own brand of Bourbon. Mike and Kerry were expecting a child and knew they wanted to name their daughter Penelope. That inspired them to name their brand Penelope Bourbon.

 

Penelope Bourbon earns my kudos for its comprehensive transparency. From the start, Penelope made no secret of the fact that MGP was the distiller. It partners with Speyside Cooperage to source casks for its various oak finishes. Penelope’s whiskeys were initially blended and bottled at Castle & Key Distillery. However, those operations had moved to Bardstown Bourbon Company. Then, in May of 2022, the brand was purchased by Luxco, MGP’s consumer-facing subsidiary.

 

In the last two years, Penelope has quickly expanded the number of expressions it produces. Some are interesting barrel finishes, while others concentrate more on age and proof. What’s interesting, and somewhat unusual, is for an established brand to explore the nuances of basic whiskeys. Penelope calls its new Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Straight Rye releases its Classic Series.

 

“Since the beginning, our mission has always been to deliver the best possible whiskey to the consumer with every product we release. We didn’t always follow the traditional playbook, but we always prioritized quality above all else. We’ve been talking about and working toward introducing Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Straight Rye Whiskey for a long time, but we wanted to make sure they were perfect before releasing them.” - Michael Paladini, Founder and Vice President of Strategy at Penelope Bourbon

 

Now, when I say “basic” whiskeys, I don’t mean 80° el-cheapo offerings. Instead, it implies getting back to the basics. While they carry no age statement, both are bottled at a respectable 46% ABV (92°), are allegedly quality pours, and are non-chill filtered.

 

These are currently available in “select markets” with a nationwide rollout coming soon.

 

We’ll explore both the Bourbon and Rye neat in Glencairn glasses after allowing each to acclimate for 15 minutes. I thank Penelope Bourbon for providing me with samples in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s #DrinkCurious, shall we?

 

Penelope Classic Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon

 

• Whiskey Type: Bourbon
• Distiller: Lux Row Distillers
• Age: NAS
• Mashbill: 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 46% ABV (92°)
• Price per 750mL: $44.99
• Non-Chill Filtered

 

Appearance: The Bourbon’s color was a golden amber. The liquid formed a thick rim with wide, crazed, quick tears.

 

Nose: After the 15-minute waiting period, I brought the glass beneath my nose and began sniffing. I encountered brown sugar, toffee, soft mint, pecans, leather, and oak. Inside my mouth, the air tasted of toasted coconut.

 

Palate: On the first sip, I found a silky texture and a punch of tobacco. My next try revealed notes of cocoa, brown sugar, and toasted coconut on the front of my palate, followed by toffee, leather, and pecans. Clove, oak spice, and tobacco were on the back.

 

Finish: Initially soft, it quickly ramped up in intensity and spice, with notes of cinnamon, tobacco, oak, and clove. Then, at about a minute in, it was tempered by toasted coconut and pecans as it began its descent. At 1:36, it vanished, making it a medium- to long-duration.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Despite the presentation’s nondescript nature, Penelope delivers a nice return on investment. Classic Series Bourbon was Penelope’s toe-dip into Bardstown-distilled Bourbon. My experience is that Lux Row Distillers consistently knocks it out of the park with Bourbon, and Penelope made a great choice.

 

Classic Series Bourbon is an incredibly easy sipper that doesn’t overwhelm while still providing plenty of character. There’s nothing not to like, including the price. My Bottle rating is well-earned.

 

◊◊◊◊◊

 

Penelope Classic Series Straight Rye

 

• Whiskey Type: American Rye
• Distiller: Ross & Squibb (MGP)
• Age: NAS
• Mashbill: 93% rye and 7% malted barley
• Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
• Alcohol Content: 46% ABV (92°)
• Price per 750mL: $34.99
• Non-Chill Filtered

 

Appearance: The topaz color seemed inviting. A husky rim produced fast, medium-weighted tears.

 

Nose: Once the whiskey was fully acclimated, I was ready to explore the nose. My olfactory sense plucked notes of rye spice, spearmint, dill, and brown sugar. Each time I took another whiff, that spearmint grew in intensity. Drawing the air through my lips offered a bold taste of sassafras leaning toward root beer.

 

Palate: Classic Series Rye possessed a thin, slick mouthfeel and set off an earthquake of spearmint with an even bigger aftershock of wintergreen. My second sip unveiled brown sugar, tobacco leaf, and rye spice on the front of my palate. The middle featured spearmint, wintergreen, and leather, while the back of my palate found oak, cinnamon Red Hots, and barrel char.

 

Finish: I kept sensing the barrel char competing with the sharper spice notes. Spearmint, wintergreen, oak, and even a bit of clove stepped up to the plate. It was even-keeled, and the duration lasted 1:10, which I’d classify as somewhere between medium and medium-long.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: One of the cool things is that Penelope chose to go with an atypical Rye mashbill. MGP is known for its 95/5 and 51/45/4 Ryes. As such, this was an adventure in and of itself.

 

What I found was completely unexpected. The wintergreen palate shock caught me off guard, and I wondered how it would recover. Obviously, we don’t know the age of the distillate, but I suspect it is on the younger side; perhaps closer to the four-year minimum to avoid a mandatory age statement.

 

Interestingly, the barrel char tamed this spice bomb, making it more palatable. Still, Classic Series Rye drank above its stated proof, closer to 100°. While very well-priced, I prefer my Ryes less aggressive, and I believe my Bar rating is the logical choice.

 

◊◊◊◊◊

 

Final Thoughts: While both are quality whiskeys, it should be obvious that I preferred the Bourbon over the Rye. I commend Penelope Bourbon for taking a risk by using Lux Row Distillers for the Bourbon and using an off-profile MGP mashbill for its Rye. Cheers!

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit, but begs you to do so responsibly.