Bourbon Review
Penelope Valencia
Blended Straight Bourbon — Vino de Naranja Cask Finish
The Story
Penelope likes to mess with unusual finishing barrels, and Valencia is one of the stranger ones. Their regular blended bourbon — 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, 3% malted barley — spends up to a year finishing in Vino de Naranja casks from Seville, which is a fortified orange wine. That's a very specific, very intentional choice, and the name and packaging lean into it hard.
At 95 proof and non-chill filtered, it's not a light touch of a finish — they gave the wine casks real time to leave a mark. Haven't poured it yet, but a wheat-forward mashbill seems like a smart pairing for citrus and wine influence, at least on paper.
Nose, Palate & Finish
Nose
The orange wine cask isn't subtle — orange is the first thing you get, and it's a good thing.
Palate
Tried this one blind, no idea what I was drinking, and the orange still stood out as the best part of the glass. That citrus wine finish actually works instead of just being a gimmick on the label.
Finish
The orange sticks around after the sip's done, which is exactly what you want from a bottle built around that finish.