Penelope Architect

It’s been a while... a long while... since one of my pointless, yet pointed whiskey reviews landed in your inbox.

As a reminder, this newsletter is a space that serves a few purposes for me.

• First, it’s published using a platform – Ghost – that I work on everyday, giving me the opportunity to dogfood taste our product. [Editor’s note: gross]
• Second, it forces me to explore the world of whiskey, a hobby I seem to have lost for a few years in the post-kid era I now find myself in.
• Lastly, I am dogmatic about only writing these whilst drinking the whiskey I’m reviewing – meaning as the post goes on, I become funnier. Whether that means funnier in a laughing with me or at me type of way is up to you.

This evening I’m drinking Penelope’s Architect – a brand that I have been, admittedly, hesitant to add to my bar. A little history on why...

Penelope was founded in 2018, on the premise that a softer, more approachable bourbon, plus excellent branding, would appeal to a broader market of people. To turn idea into reality, the two founders sourced their base bourbon from MGP Ingredients, one of the largest contract distillers in the U.S.

Within the industry, Penelope’s path is not uncommon. Whiskey takes a long time to make, with significant upfront costs. The capital required to build out a distillery, source grain, and then store & age whiskey for ~5-10 years prior to making a single dollar represents quite a significant barrier to entry.

While there are multiple strategies for overcoming that barrier (e.g. start building your brand with Gin or Vodka, neither of which require significant aging), one of the most common is to do what Penelope did – source already aged whiskey from a contract distiller like MGP, so that you can go to market quickly by focusing on blending, finishing, and building a brand through storytelling.

Brands that do this are commonly referred to as a “non-distilling producers” (NDPs). And to be very clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it – it’s smart business, and gives us all more interesting bourbons to try.

Fast forward a few years, and Penelope became one of the fastest growing Bourbon brands in the country – a fact that their partner, MGP, took notice of. In 2023, MGP acquired Penelope for $105M, as part of their strategy to vertically integrate brands in order to insulate themselves from an oversaturated, weakening spirits market that was reducing growth in their contract distilling business.

So, back to my hesitance – it wasn’t because I’m some sort of purist. Many of my favorite whiskeys, like Barrel Bourbon, are NDPs that source from MGP for their distillate.

However, in the case of Penelope, they’re no longer really an NDP, are they...? In reality, they’re a subsidiary. And something about the post-acquisition tasting note of being “margin accretive” to a publicly traded company subconsciously forced my eyes to skate over the long row of Penelope bottles in the bourbon aisle.

Well, hindtaste being 20/20, I was wrong to do so...

Penelope Architect

Rank: 8

Nose: Warm, caramel, honey

Taste: Vanilla bean, toasted oak, cinnamon

Body: Viscous, velvety, creamy

Finish: Smooth, lingering

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Overall: This is a great whiskey, one that I’ll keep coming back to.

Bottle Info

• Distiller: MGP (sourced)
• Bottler: Penelope Bourbon
• Location: Louisville, Kentucky
• Brand: Architect (Core Series – Penelope)
• Barrel No (Build): Build No. 12
• ABV: 104 proof (52 %)
• Age: 4 years

Have a 🥃 you like?

Add a comment with suggestions for what I should try next. Please. I need help.