Breaking Bourbon Award Winning Single Barrel Club picks are selected by Breaking Bourbon, and whenever possible with the help of Patreon supporters. The bottles are made available to Patreon supporters first by pledge tier. If any bottles remain after all supporters have had an opportunity to purchase, they are made available to the public on a first come, first served basis. Each barrel is sponsored by a retailer partner, who sells the bottles directly to end purchasers.

Retailer Partner: Seelbach’s

Classification: Straight Bourbon

Company: MGP  

Distillery: Ross & Squibb Distillery (MGP)

Age: 10 Years

Proof: 100.8

Mashbill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley

Yield: 162 Bottles

Release Date: February 2025

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Rollout Schedule

Tier 1 - Thursday 2/20/2025 @ 10AM ET

Tier 2 - Thursday 2/20/2025 @ 2PM ET

Tier 3 - Friday 2/21/2025 @ 10AM ET

Tier 4 - Friday 2/21/2025 @ 2PM ET

About the Tiers

What a dynamic ride the Penelope brand has taken. Company founders Mike Paladini and Danny Polise are as down to earth as they come, combining Paladini’s ability to brainstorm new concepts that are in touch with the market and Polise’s ability to navigate the technical details to make it happen.

While they may have been one of many brands to source from MGP, they were also one doing it differently. Polise has never been bashful about being selective when it came to barrels and blending, and taking Paladini’s desire to connect with people at all levels within the bourbon community quickly transformed the brand into a nationwide brand with a recognizable household name. Unlike many of the other brands sourcing from MGP, the duo was always up front about where they whiskey was coming from, and even made it a point to market it.

In May, 2023 the announcement hit that MGP was acquiring the Penelope brand for a total buy out in excess of $200 million. This sent shockwaves of surprise and excitement through the bourbon community. And it left one key question looming in our minds - would this be a chance to better connect with MGP?

Ross & Squibb Distillery is located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, has been operating since 1847, and serves as the source for many brands. Distilling was led by the great master distiller Greg Metze for many years, until his recent departure to work for Old Elk Distillery out of Colorado. The thing was, no one ever visited MGP. The company has their own Rossville Union brand, but it’s one few have a strong connection with (though we discovered a fantastic rye barrel that went a long way to change that). It had been over 80 years since someone had visited the distillery and picked a barrel because, quite simply, MGP was the guy behind the guy for so long.

We wanted to change that, so we reached out to Paladini and Polise to schedule a time to meet them at MGP and make the first onsite barrel pick in over 80 years. Whiskey veteran and founder of Seelbach’s Blake Riber joined, and we set course for MGP back in March of 2024. We navigated through the rickhouses and pulled from bourbon barrels onsite that had achieved the double-digit age mark, eventually finding the one we wanted.

Read about this history-making barrel pick here, and check out the full tasting notes below. We hope you enjoy this barrel as much as we do!

Tasting Notes:‍

A delicate, sweet-savory mix of scents on the nose is accented by hints of stone fruit and dried fruit. On the palate, rich honey and graham cracker are complemented by pie crust and ripe apricot. A hint of cinnamon plays in the background, but only ever so slightly, allowing the bourbon’s sweeter flavors to hold center stage. Delicate white pepper spice and layers of caramel are revealed on the finish, which caps off this smooth, well-balanced bourbon. It’s a traditionally-inspired, 10+ year old quintessential bourbon, through and through.

About Seelbach’s

For this pick, we partnered with spirits retailer Seelbach’s, which was founded by Blake Riber, also the creator of Bourbonr and the Bourbonr Facebook group. An online-only retailer with a twist, we interviewed Riber to discuss how he’s running his shop differently than everyone else. “Unlocking Craft Spirits” he calls it - seeking out up-and-coming craft distilleries and learning about their process and tasting through their products to find hidden gems.

Distillers, Producers, and Retailers: If you would like to be a part of this program and get your name in front of millions of bourbon enthusiasts, contact us.

‍Please note these bottles will not be sold by Breaking Bourbon, but will be sold by retailers we partner with in order to fulfill the orders and ship the bottles directly to Patreon supporters. Breaking Bourbon will receive no compensation from our partner retailers under these agreements (with the exception of a bottle from each barrel for editorial purposes). If you represent a retailer and ship to consumers and you’re interested in partnering just let us know!