Penelope Toasted Bourbon (Char 5, Heavy Toasted)

Penelope Straight Bourbon Whiskey Toasted, char 5, toast heavy, 100 proof, batch 25-301. Tasting neat. Mahogany color and rather thin legs in the glass. Nose is grassy dry grain, char and vanilla oak, light orange citrus, and a little pepper in the far back. On the palate, char and oak smoke, tannic leather, and then sweet burnt sugar. Oily coating mouthfeel for those big toasted flavors. Into the finish, baking spices and spicy grass show up around that sweet char core, and grows more peppery, tingling, with a hint of bitter orange peel over time. A good long finish. An ice cube calms the tannic core and enhances the sweetness and hint of orange without totally hiding the char and toasted oak finish. This is the toasted or double barrel profile, and you either like it or find it over-cooked. I like the charred wood flavors that hold the bourbon sweetness in check. A little tannic, but you have the option to add an ice cube and change that feature. I like the choice. Will revisit this and think about it... maybe in a Manhattan where it will play off the sweet vermouth. Or an Old Fashioned with more character, less sweet.

Very sweet and smooth. The char 5 is even sweeter than the char 1! Vanilla flavor lingers nicely. One of my top 5!