Penelope has been a brand on the rise for a while.  I have followed their growth from their initial launch through now in which they have been purchased by Luxco.  They have always offered solid bottles at reasonable prices though, as with any bourbon startup, the whiskey seemed to taste a bit too much on the young side.  Now that they've had some time to grow stocks and with a parent company like Luxco to offer access to much older barrels, I'm interested to see where they go from here.  

As for the rankings, the first bottle I wanted to highlight from the group is this Penelope Barrel Strength. Unfortunately, this did not make the Top 5 but is still a solid bottle to check out.  It is a blend of 3 different bourbon mashbills, including a wheated one, to make this a four-grain product (corn, wheat, rye, & malted barley).  This is a batched product, and while each one will vary slightly, I've had several and they're fairly consistent.  Side note: I typically don't include any bottles in my ranking tests if it is a single barrel or batch product that varies significantly from release to release. This particular one comes in at 115.2 proof and the bottle states the barrels used were aged a minimum of 48 months.  I purchased this for $65 which a pretty phenomenal price in today's world of whiskey for a barrel proof product.  The website claims that the blend is of barrels 4-6 years old.  Again, I would imagine this age to continue to increase as they age their stock for longer.  4-6 years is fairly young for a barrel proof product but it can still be effective. Let's taste it...

You immediately know you're drinking barrel proof with this.  I wouldn't consider it hot from the alcohol, but more so big bold spice notes punch you right in the face.  While a few sweet notes of gingerbread and graham crackers trickle in, it is mostly pepper and baking spices that you experience.  As expected, a long very warm finish leaves the pepper notes lingering on your palate.  If you want to warm up, this is the bottle for you!  A spice lover's dream, for sure.  While it doesn't make my top 5, you should definitely check it out, especially if this profile fits your preferences!