Kettle corn | Pecan | Cake batter | Stewed apples | Nutmeg | Chocolate crinkle cookie | Potent & sweet

Tiramisu | Kettle corn | Honeycomb | Brown butter

Oak | Clove | Cinnamon spice | Rising spice & heat

Penelope Bourbon is back with another light whiskey release, but this time upping its age by 2 years, and now reaches an impressive 15 years old. One should expect that this is from the same barrel stock as it was 2 years ago when they released Penelope Founders Reserve: 13 Year American Light Whiskey. However, thinking this is a carbon copy of the previous edition would be shortchanging this release.

Penelope Founders Reserve: 15 Year American Light Whiskey opens with a similar kettle corn scent as the 13 year version but further adds pecan and nutmeg along with taking its original honeycrisp apple note and deepens its flavor considerably. The palate sheds its previous crème brûlée note to align more with rich tiramisu. Kettle corn continues throughout the rest of the sip but is further joined by honeycomb and brown butter on the palate, and a heavy dose of oak on the finish. Clove and cinnamon spice return once again but linger, raising the spice and heat index.

In any given year, there aren’t that many light whiskey releases, and I have to give Penelope Bourbon kudos for having the guts to release not just one, but two light whiskeys. I didn’t expect they would be able to top their previous 13 year old edition, but the 15 year gives it a run for its money. While not a revolutionary upgrade, it's an evolutionary one that takes everything that was great with the previous release and finds a way to make it better.