Review: Penelope Havana

I’m not sure I could name another distillery that’s going more with twists on both production and finishing than Penelope, which seems to roll out a new, unheard-of whiskey every month or two. Its latest is Havana, which is unique finished twice before bottling and which revolves around maple syrup. (Why this isn’t called Penelope Vermont, I don’t know.)

It starts with Penelope Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey made from a mashbill of 74% corn, 7% rye, 16% wheat, and 3% malted barley that is aged for four years in new barrels. That is then finished for 12 months in Caribbean rum casks — and then another month in maple syrup barrels. Those maple barrels were originally made from used Penelope bourbon barrels which were then repurposed to store maple syrup before returning to the distillery for finishing purposes.

“This is much more than a rum-finished bourbon – it’s a standout in our collection of cask-finished bourbons,” said Danny Polise, Penelope Bourbon Founder and Master Blender. “The maple finish is the perfect complement to the initial rum-finished bourbon by further elevating the blend and creating balance between savory, sweet and oak spice.”

This is nothing if not unique stuff, but digging into it, let’s be frank: The story here is all about the maple syrup. To say the nose is sweet would be an understatement, the whiskey at times indistinguishable from a fresh bottle of actual maple syrup. It takes a few minutes for the overt sweetness to temper, but even after ample air time, the pure syrupiness endures. How “wet” these barrels were when they were returned to Penelope isn’t clear, but as the commercial once famously said, it seems like you’re soaking in it. Beyond that a more generalized bourbonness is evident — vanilla and char, with a lightly smoky touch that works pretty well with the front-and-center maple.

Zero mystery on the palate: It’s more maple syrup to the point where this feels like it was made for pancakes. It’s very sweet but also sharp with notes of orange marmalade, Maraska cherry, and a late-stage note of green banana. That it’s a thick and viscous whiskey should not be surprising — it doesn’t just taste like maple syrup, it feels like maple syrup, clinging to the entirety of the mouth as you sip on it. A light reprise of cherry, some milk chocolate, and a pinch of mint inform a lengthy finish, though it is dominated by, you guessed it, an overload of maple syrup that had me fully ready for dessert — although I was sampling this before dinner.

All told, this is a very sweet experience, and even though I usually love sweeter bourbon styles and aggressive finishes, this was just too far out there for me to fully immerse myself in — outside of accompanying a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

93 proof.

B+ / $80 / penelopebourbon.com [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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