Review #223: Penelope Architect Crème Brûlée

MASH BILL: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley

AGE: 5 years

PROOF: 110

COST: $60 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

The Penelope Architect line is made from the standard 21% rye bourbon mash bill from Penelope, and then finished in French Oak staves from their partner Tonnellerie Radox in France who uses a proprietary OakScan process to create the perfect flavor profile. When this particular Crème Brûlée expression first dropped, there was a very high demand for it (who doesn’t like a good Crème Brûlée. Locally, it was selling for around $100 a bottle pretty quickly after release. I really wanted to try it but just wasn’t quite in it for as much as people were charging for it. As the hype died down, prices did too. A couple local stores started selling it close to MSR P. As signs of the glut really started to show a couple months back, a few stores even dropped the price lower than MSRP. While I became pretty tempted to get a bottle, I had a friend who picked one up for a killer deal and has provided me a sample to check it out. Let’s see if it’s time for me to go pick up my own bottle!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Golden chestnut in color (1.3), lots of thin legs with a mild viscosity.

NOSE: There is a surprising earthy grain note right away accompanied by (not so surprising) sugary sweet notes of caramelized sugar, sweet corn, vanilla, and toasted orange peel. I get a subtle black pepper spice and a light touch of clove.

PALATE: Yup…that’s bourbon… There’s really not a lot going on here other than some traditional bourbon notes. Caramelized sugar, dried oak, and a touch of mint chocolate appear at first. I get a little toasted vanilla and orange peel towards the back of the palate. There is a light mix of baking spice. The oak note certainly gets more tannic as we get closer to the finish as well.

FINISH: A long, dry finish. Mostly tannic oak with a caramelized vanilla sugar note. There is a touch of bitter chocolate long into the finish that mixes with the oak well. Overall, there is nothing too unique about this finish. Mostly traditional bourbon.

RATING: 5.7/10

OVERALL: I expected a lot more here honestly. I love French Oak finished bourbon, but I did not get a lot of the notes that I was expecting from the French Oak. I don’t know how long it was finished for, but I would say it could use a longer time to get more of that creamy texture and those rich vanilla and chocolate notes I’m accustomed to French Oak bringing out. The French Oak finish was mostly apparent on the nose, but the palate and finish were just traditional bourbon notes with signs of its 110 proof rating. Overall, I’m disappointed by this one and glad I didn’t pick up a full bottle – particularly at the peak of its demand.

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings

 

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