Review: Penelope Wheated Bourbon

Penelope makes waves among bourbon geeks for their limited, special edition, and annual bottlings. (With lineup names like Founders Reserve, Estate Collection, and Limited Edition, they’re easy enough to differentiate.) But it’s the brand’s Core Series that has really won over hearts, minds, and bartenders nationwide.

The core four expressions have until now included Architect, Barrel Strength, Four Grain, and Toasted. Early 2025 makes it a quintet with the introduction of Penelope Wheated, a four grain bourbon with a mashbill of 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, and 3% malted barley. It’s worth noting these percentages are derived from the blend, as no single component was distilled with more than three grains.

Some astute early shoppers have pointed out that there’s just 1% more wheat in the mashbill than Penelope’s standard Four Grain Bourbon. As co-founder and Master Blender Danny Polise told me on a recent inventory trip, the construction behind the two blends is purposefully more different than those percentages might imply. And in any case, one percent in whiskey can make a big difference.

The final product is bottled at 95 proof and carries a very competitive price tag of $40. That’s not the cheapest bottle on most shelves, but depending on the taste, it could certainly fall into great value territory.

Let’s see if it gets there.

The nose starts slightly hotter than I was expecting for its 95 proof; not a bad thing in the slightest, but it’s worth highlighting some kick right out of the gate. The first discernable aroma is corn, though not in a semi-funky, fermenting mash sense one can smell on young (often pot distilled) craft bourbons. Instead, it’s cornbread, salted butter, and caraway seed, with mineral-forward savory aromas to balance the sweet. Heavily cinnamon-spiced apple sauce is next, along with some herbal components of fennel and tarragon. The oak punches at chest-level, lending tea-like wood tannins but not quite hitting deeper leather and tobacco. For a $40 bourbon, Penelope Wheated doesn’t showcase any superlative notes on the nose, but it’s already got more depth than many entrants in this price category.

Honey-sweetened cornbread introduces a palate that’s downright… approachable. A little rose simple syrup and apple juice follow. Honey transitions to light caramel candy, which remains the predominant note for most of the sip. Most everything else is pulled from bourbon flavor central casting: vanilla, nutmeg, clove, snickerdoodle cookie, and sweetened black tea.

On the finish, we’ve got more of the same, especially in regard to honey-sweetened tea, and the slightest intimation of orange zest. There’s a lot to like, and very little to criticize here.

But to get down to brass tacks, Penelope Wheated is not a terribly surprising dram, though it hits the strike zone with enough speed (or rather, viscosity) to make sure every note is plenty perceptible, even when they’re predictable. There’s definitely enough heat and spice to satisfy here — and it goes down quick. My glass was almost empty before I realized it.

Add this to the short list of $40-and-under bottles I’m always happy to have on hand, especially on a hot summer’s day. It’s that good of a deal.

95 proof.

B+ / $40 / penelopebourbon.com

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