Penelope Wheated Straight Bourbon 750ml

Penelope Wheated Straight Bourbon comes from Penelope Bourbon, a brand founded in 2018 by childhood friends Mike Paladini and Danny Polise to celebrate the birth of Paladini's daughter, Penelope. What began as a passion project has grown into a company sold across more than two dozen states and several countries, and Penelope was recently acquired by MGP, the Indiana-based producer that distills its whiskey.

Unlike traditional wheated bourbons, which typically use only corn, wheat, and malted barley, Penelope Wheated leans on an unusual four-grain mash bill of roughly 74 percent corn, 16 percent wheat, 7 percent rye, and 3 percent malted barley, doubling the wheat relative to rye rather than eliminating rye altogether. Distilled at the Ross & Squibb Distillery (formerly MGP) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the whiskey matures for four to six years before being bottled at 95 proof, giving it a softer, sweeter character than a typical rye-forward bourbon while retaining a touch of spice from the small rye component.

On the nose, expect hot cross buns, vanilla, and sweet corn alongside brown sugar, nutmeg, and honeyed pear. The palate balances sweetness and spice, with gentle oak and white peppercorn meeting vanilla and honey, while the finish closes with lingering rye spice, vanilla cake, and a light touch of frosted sweetness.