For bourbon drinkers who want their whiskey straight from the barrel with nothing standing between them and the full flavor of a well-aged spirit, Penelope Bourbon has just delivered something worth paying attention to. The New Jersey-based brand, which has been building a serious reputation in the premium whiskey world since its founding in 2018, has announced the release of its Barrel Strength 7-Year — a limited expression that marks a meaningful step forward in what was already one of the more decorated product lines in the company's portfolio.
This is not a minor update. Penelope has taken its popular Barrel Strength series, which previously featured a 4-year aged bourbon, and pushed it to a full 7 years of maturation. The result is a non-chill filtered, uncut release bottled at 115.2 proof — a serious pour by any measure — that the brand is positioning as the natural next chapter in the Barrel Strength story.
Image credit: Penelope Bourbon
What makes the move even more notable is what did not change: the price. Despite the jump in age and proof, Penelope is holding the suggested retail price at $59.99 for a 750mL bottle. In a market where extra age almost always means extra cost passed on to the consumer, that decision will likely turn some heads.
A Recipe Built Around Complexity
The bourbon is built from four different straight bourbon mash bills, each aged 7 years in hand-selected new American oak barrels. The primary mash bill breaks down to 70% corn, 23% rye, 5% malted barley and 2% malted rye. Blending four separate mash bills at this age, then bottling the result without cutting it with water or running it through chill filtration, is the kind of approach that tends to produce a spirit with real depth and character.
Danny Polise, who founded Penelope and serves as its Master Blender, described the thinking behind the blend in straightforward terms. "This one really captures what we love about blending," he said. "With four different 7-year straight bourbon mash bills coming together into something layered, mature and easy to get behind, it feels like the natural evolution of our Barrel Strength profile."
Polise's background in blending has been central to Penelope's identity since day one. The brand built its name not just on sourcing quality whiskey but on the craft of combining different mash bills into something more interesting than any single component might be on its own. The Barrel Strength 7-Year is perhaps the most ambitious expression of that philosophy to date.
Michael Paladini, who co-founded Penelope and serves as Vice President of Strategy for MGP Ingredients, echoed the significance of this particular release. "Barrel Strength has been a special product for us since the early days of Penelope," he said. "We've always strived for each batch to continually get better in this series and we think this release is no exception. Barrel Strength 7-Year marks an exciting new chapter for this product and we can't wait to see where it goes from here."
What's in the Glass
For those who want to know what they're getting before they open the bottle, the tasting profile gives a solid picture. On the nose, the bourbon opens with pecans, dried apricot and hints of vanilla — an inviting combination that suggests both sweetness and some richness underneath. On the palate, flavors of caramel, toffee, leather and pecans come forward, with a touch of orange zest adding a bit of brightness. The finish brings notes of white pepper, cinnamon and brown sugar, with lingering caramel that keeps things from fading too quickly.
That combination of fruit, nut, spice and sweetness is characteristic of what Penelope has called its Four Grain flavor profile — a balanced approach that runs through its product line. But at 7 years old and 115.2 proof, the Barrel Strength version takes those familiar elements and cranks up the intensity. The extra age has had time to develop the deeper, more complex notes — the leather, the warm spice, the lingering sweetness — while the decision to skip chill filtration means those fats and oils that contribute to mouthfeel and flavor remain intact in the bottle.
A Track Record That Backs It Up
The Barrel Strength series already has an impressive awards resume. The expressions in this line earned Platinum at the 2023 ASCOT Awards, followed by Double Platinum at the 2024 ASCOT Awards. At the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition — one of the most respected competitions in the industry — Barrel Strength earned Double Gold and a Best-In-Class Finalist designation. In 2025, additional recognition came in the form of Gold at the Bartender Spirits Awards and both Double Platinum and Gold at the ASCOT Awards.
That kind of consistent recognition across multiple competitions over several years is not easy to achieve. It suggests the judges keep coming back to Penelope's Barrel Strength offerings and keep finding something worth honoring.
The broader Penelope portfolio has been racking up awards across other expressions as well. The brand's Toasted expression earned a Best In Class finalist spot and a Double Gold medal at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Wheated brought home a Double Platinum at the 2025 ASCOT Awards. Even Penelope's ready-to-pour cocktail offerings have been earning medals — the Peach Old Fashioned and Black Walnut Old Fashioned each took Platinum at the 2025 ASCOT Awards.
The Company Behind the Bottle
Penelope was founded in 2018 and has grown into one of the faster-rising names in premium American whiskey. It operates under the umbrella of Luxco, which in turn functions as the Branded Spirits division of MGP Ingredients, a publicly traded company. Penelope's bourbon is produced at the Ross and Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana — the same facility where MGP's Remus bourbon is made.
MGP and Luxco together oversee a portfolio that includes some well-known names in bourbon and beyond. Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky handles Rebel, Ezra Brooks and Blood Oath. Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky produces Yellowstone Bourbon. And Destiladora Gonzalez Lux in Arandas, Mexico covers the tequila side of the portfolio with brands including El Mayor and Exotico.
For Penelope specifically, the MGP connection means access to significant production infrastructure and expertise, but the brand has always maintained a distinct identity built around the blending philosophy that Polise and Paladini brought to it from the start.
Availability and the Bigger Picture
Penelope is releasing approximately 13,000 cases of Barrel Strength 7-Year — specifically 6-bottle cases — in select markets starting this month. At a minimum suggested retail price of $59.99, it sits at a point where it should be accessible to serious bourbon drinkers without requiring them to spend big. Consumers looking to track down a bottle can use the product locator on the Penelope Bourbon website.
Limited releases at this proof and age level often disappear quickly, particularly when they come from a brand with the award history and following that Penelope has built. Anyone with a genuine interest in barrel strength bourbon who comes across this one at retail would do well not to wait on it.
At its core, the Barrel Strength 7-Year is a straightforward proposition. It is older, stronger and more developed than what came before it, built the same way Penelope has always built its products — by blending multiple mash bills with care — and offered at a price that does not penalize the buyer for the additional time the barrels spent aging. In a category where hype often outruns quality and where age statements have become increasingly rare, that combination is genuinely worth noting.
