Penelope Unveils 2025 Estate Collection, Featuring Heightened Age Statements and a French Oak Finish

(Photo: Penelope Bourbon)

On Thursday, Penelope Bourbon unveiled its 2025 Estate Collection, which will roll out in September. This time around, it will feature five age-stated straight bourbons — up from last year’s count of three — highlighted by Omega, a whiskey finished in French oak barrels, and a 13-year-old Founders Reserve.

Danny Polise, Penelope founder and master blender, said the Omega release reflects years of experimentation with French oak casks from Radoux Cooperage. “We are excited to introduce Omega as part of the Estate Collection – we’ve been experimenting with these French Oak finishing casks, built by the Radoux Cooperage, which utilizes oak from the most prestigious French forests,” Polise said in a news release.

Let’s break down the lineup.

Penelope Founders Reserve 13 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($199.99)

Distilled from a mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley, 2025’s Founders Reserve is aged 13 years (up from last year’s 11-year age statement) and bottled at a cask-strength 121.4 proof. About 3,700 cases will be on shelves in select markets in September for a suggested retail price of $199.99.

Tasting Notes, Via Penelope: “Founders Reserve opens with an aroma of rich caramel, vanilla, faint hints of tobacco and candied fruit. The body features toasted nuts, graham cracker, sweet oak, butterscotch and dark fruit on the palate and finishes with lingering spice, caramel sweetness and black pepper spice.”

Penelope Omega 11 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($129.99)

Aged 11 years, this bourbon spent its final year in Radoux Omega barrels, which Penelope says are considered the pinnacle of French Oak innovation. The barrels are crafted with  tight-grain oak and a “meticulously designed” toast profile, according to Penelope.

Radoux Cooperage uses OakScan® technology — which measures the content of polyphenols in wood — to select staves with the chemical composition needed for a desired flavor profile.

Distilled from a mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley, Omega is bottled at 109.8 proof. A limited allocation of 1,800 cases will arrive in select markets in September for a suggested retail price of $129.99.

Tasting Notes, via Penelope: “Omega opens with a nose of warm vanilla, honey, toffee and allspice followed by a body of brown sugar, dark fruit, leather and cocoa. The finish features sweet spice, cinnamon gum and buttery sweet nougat.”

Single Barrel 10 Year Bourbon ($89.99)

The collection includes a pair of 10-year-old single-barrel bourbons, each carrying a suggested retail price of $89.99.

The first single-barrel bourbon has a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley. It’s bottled at 99 proof. Thirteen hundred cases will be available nationwide in September.

Tasting Notes, Via Penelope: “Aromas of vanilla, caramel, dried fruit and plum; tastes of caramel, butter toffee, wild cherry candy and light rye spice; and a finish of cinnamon, frosting and lingering spice.”

The second is distilled from a higher-rye mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley. It’s bottled 103 proof and will have 2,400 cases released nationwide in September.

Tasting Notes, Via Penelope: “Caramel, vanilla and graham cracker on the nose followed by flavors of apricot, vanilla and light chocolate on the palate. The long rye spice finish includes notes of vanilla custard and roasted nuts.”

Penelope Private Select 10 Year Bourbon ($79.99)

This 10-year-old blended bourbon has a mashbill of 74% corn, 20% rye, 1% wheat and 5% malted barley. It’s bottled at 106.8 proof and will be the most widely released bourbon in the collection, with 6,900 available nationwide starting in September at a suggested retail price of $79.99.

Tasting Notes, Via Penelope: “Opening with aromas of rich caramel, cinnamon and red fruits, 2025 Private Select features flavors of caramel, brown sugar, cherry and baking spice, and a vanilla honey bun finish with notes of oak spice and light smoke.”

“Our Estate Collection brings together the best bourbons we release each year,” said Michael Paladini, Penelope Bourbon founder and vice president of strategy for MGP Ingredients. “For 2025, we’re introducing Omega, finished in some of the most prestigious French Oak barrels in the world, and bringing back Founders Reserve as a 13-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon. We’ve also raised the age statement on Private Select and expanded allocations across the lineup, making this year’s collection our most exciting and accessible yet.”

Locate Penelope products near you here.