Penelope Bourbon

The list of awards is seriously long for this one.

Mike Paladini and his wife Kerry had long agreed that if they had a daughter she would be named Penelope. In 2018 they had that daughter, named her as intended, and founded Penelope Bourbon at the same time with Mike’s childhood friend Danny Polise. As many start-up Spirits companies do, they have launched with a little outside help. In this case distilling and aging in Indiana at MGP and expert blending and bottling assistance from Castle Rock in Kentucky — whom they proudly call part of their team. And the team is working, with two successful releases under their belt and a fistful of awards already in hand.

This bottling takes their signature four grain Bourbon and takes it to another level. Batch 12 is blended from three-Bourbon mash bills that are put to rest in new American oak casks. The final result is completely uncut and non chill-filtered. Every barrel was also hand-picked before it was blended into this unique single batch. Prepare yourself for some savory vanilla cream with hints of crème brûlée, all wrapped up nicely with sweet cream and savory grain on the long finish. The list of awards is already annoyingly long: Double Platinum at the 2022 Ascot Awards, Gold Medal at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Platinum Medal 2020 SIP Awards, 90 Points Whisky Advocate, 92 points by The Tasting Panel, to mention the most prestigious ones.