Softer scents greet you as you lift the glass. Gentle sweet notes of hot cross buns, vanilla, sweet corn, and a subtle brown sugar scent lead the way. A light nutmeg scent, along with touches of oak and honeyed pear, appear after further exploration. An overall pleasing aroma to start things off.

The palate leans into Penelope Wheated’s four grain mashbill displaying both sweet and spicy notes. A straightforward array of gentle oak, white peppercorn, and rye spice collides with muddled vanilla and sweet honey. It’s pleasingly sweet yet gently spiced and easy to enjoy, making a nice cap to the midpoint.

Gentle rye spice pops and combines with oak and vanilla cake. A light frosting and white peppercorn note appears before the focus narrows down to rye spice with a hint of a vanilla note. The gentle spice lingers for a long time to wrap things up in an enjoyable fashion.

Wheated bourbons are known for their softer flavor profiles, and Penelope Wheated Bourbon leans right into that stereotype. With sweet, soft flavors running throughout, it checks off all the boxes you’d expect for a wheated bourbon. The twist it delivers, however is that Penelope chose to focus on a four grain mashbill for their core wheated bourbon product. By pulling rye into the mashbill, a subtle yet noticeable spice runs throughout and plays nicely with the sweeter notes, resulting in a sip that gives just enough deviation to stand out from your standard wheated bourbons such as Larceny or Maker’s Mark.

One notable aspect of Penelope Wheated is its almost identical mashbill with Penelope Four Grain. The only difference is that Wheated Bourbon has 1% less corn and 1% more wheat versus the derived mashbill from the brand’s Four Grain Bourbon. The argument could be made that Four Grain’s mashbill is a blend of various bourbons containing three different bourbon mashbills, resulting in an overall derived mashbill consisting of four grains (corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley) versus Wheated Bourbon’s scratch mashbill. However, it’s strange that the company decided to have their Four Grain and Wheated Bourbon so similar in mashbill composition. Thankfully Wheated cranks up the proof compared to Four Grain, which allows it to highlight its flavors in a differentiating way.

Penelope deserves the credit it gets for providing a core series of products that are priced at consumer-friendly price points. Ranging between $40 to $70, the Core Series spans a range of proofs and mashbills. For the release of their Wheated Bourbon, the brand brings this bottle in at the low end of their pricing at $40. Compared to the already mentioned Larceny or Maker’s Mark, Penelope Wheated is priced at a 25% premium. While it sounds costly as a percentage, that means it’s only a $10 difference. Considering that the sip it delivers brings a nice variation to the standard wheated category and that it still retails for only $40, the bourbon definitely delivers value for wheated bourbon lovers.

Penelope Wheated Bourbon, at its core, is an easy-to-appreciate bourbon that’s delivered at a consumer-friendly price point. By blending in a small rye grain component, the sip will appeal to those who are looking for a wheated bourbon that delivers a slight twist. Thanks to its $40 price point and sub-100 proof, it’s a bourbon that bourbon drinkers of all experience levels can appreciate. Penelope Wheated Bourbon doesn’t try to be anything that it isn’t, which is sometimes needed. Often, the simplest path forward is the one that’s easiest to enjoy, and that’s certainly the case with this bourbon.