MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana has a fascinating place in the modern whiskey landscape. While operating under Seagram ownership, the distillery was largely used to produce components for blended whiskey. The distillery passed through different ownership a few times and was largely ignored and unknown by whiskey enthusiasts until roughly a decade ago. MGP had been quietly providing sourced whiskey to NDPs for many years, but the practice wasn’t nearly as widely known and commonplace as it is today. The use of sourced whiskey, and the transparency about its use, was thrust into the national consciousness due to a class action lawsuit involving a prominent NDP that bottles and blends MGP whiskey. Suddenly, whiskey enthusiasts were very aware of MGP and the fact that so many NDPs bottled MGP. Most consumers agreed that the Indiana whiskey was exceptionally good, but they still didn’t know what to make of the concept of sourcing. Over the years, consumers have become much more comfortable as countless upstart distilleries and NDPs have bottled and blended whiskey distilled in Lawrenceburg, but only one of them caught the attention of MGP to the degree that MGP purchased the brand. In 2023, MGP/Luxco acquired Penelope and brought them into the family portfolio.
Penelope was founded in 2018 on the premise of purchasing and blending whiskey distilled by MGP to craft quality expressions. In 2024, Drinkhacker named Penelope Private Select Estate Collection Bourbon 9 Years Old to our Top 20 of 2024 based on the combination of quality and price. Following up on that success, Luxco provided Drinkhacker with a bottle of Penelope Single Barrel Estate Collection Straight Bourbon 10 Years Old for review. For this limited single series, each barrel is selected from various warehouses and floors to find whiskeys with exceptional and unique profiles. The Single Barrel Estate Collection series utilizes both of the standard mashbills from MGP, but this bottle features the LESV recipe with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Barrel #PEN-106 was filled on 11/14/2014 and matured on the 2nd floor of Warehouse E. After dumping, the bourbon is non-chill filtered and bottled at a respectable 98 proof.
A multitude of NDPs have bottled single barrel expressions of LESV from MGP. Every club and store in America insists that their single barrel selection is surely the best one on the market. However, what happens when Penelope and the Luxco family cherry-pick what they perceive to be the finest single barrels from their own inventory to market under their own branding? Let’s find out!
My inner-child was immediately activated as the sweet aroma of Cow Tales candy rose from the Glencairn. As the initial sweetness passes, earthy and subtly sweet apple chips enter the picture, followed by hints of almond and a burst of juicy plum. The bouquet is a symphony of well-balanced sweet and earthy character. Debuting on the palate, buttery toffee and vanilla custard quickly present. Childhood interest continues to be piqued as tangy cherry Jolly Ranchers play on the palate, followed by almonds and the warming spice of cloves. As this beautiful bourbon advances toward the finish, the tangy Jolly Rancher note presents as watery cranberry juice, avoiding being overly tart. As the dram concludes, warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting lingers gently, but for a substantial amount of time. The mouthfeel is intriguing as it initially feels a bit thin, but then gradually transitions into a much more viscous experience that hangs on the palate with a gentle tingle. My mind quickly moved from wishing for more regarding mouthfeel to the realization that the sensation changed into something rather great over the course of 30 seconds.
Based on this specific barrel, Penelope fully delivers on the marketing claim to provide noteworthy single barrels with unique and extraordinary profiles. While bottling single barrels at cask strength seems to be all the rage, bottling at 98 proof just feels right for this expression. With the knowledge that future single barrel releases in the Estate Collection will feature this level of quality in combination with different warehouses and floors, along with whiskeys made from the LBSV recipe, this is certainly a series worth your attention.
98 proof. Reviewed: Barrel #PEN-106.
A / $90 / penelopebourbon.com
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