FOOD NEWS
The Ultimate Bottle Guide To Penelope Rio Bourbon
BY SARA KAY
What Is Penelope Rio?
Penelope Bourbon is a relatively new bourbon created in 2018 by husband and wife Kerry and Mike Paladini to celebrate the birth of their daughter, Penelope.
The Penelope Rio is a four-grain blend of three bourbon mash bills and is a limited release of the Cooper Series, of which only 5,000 cases were produced.
Production
Penelope Rio is made of a mash bill of 74% corn, 14% wheat, 9% rye, and 3% malted barley, and then aged in honey barrels for four years at first.
Then, it's aged in Brazilian Amburana barrels for another two years before being non-chill filtered and bottled at 98 proof to produce a traditional, strong bourbon flavor.
Taste
On the nose, Penelope Rio has strong aromas of honey and brown sugar, which give way to notes of cinnamon, baking spices, and a hint of char on the tongue.
Overall, the bourbon is sweet and delicate with flavors of gingerbread, honey, and vanilla and a long lingering finish with wisps of warm spice.
Enjoying
While you can enjoy Penelope Rio neat or with a drop of water to open up the flavors, even a single ice cube can dilute the bourbon too much to note the nuanced flavors.
That said, the bourbon plays well in cocktails, particularly simple cocktails layered with notes of spice and citrus, which enhance the bourbon's varied flavors.
Cost
As part of Penelope Bourbon's Cooper Series, Penelope Rio is a high-quality bourbon but not quite luxury and clocks in at $89.99 for 750 milliliters.
The bourbon is a limited-edition expression with only 5,000 cases distributed evenly across specialty retailers, so you might have to search to get your hands on a bottle.