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Penelope Rio vs Booker’s
Penelope Rio and Booker’s sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: a blender-built, classically built bottling versus an uncut, rye-forward heavyweight.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Penelope Rio | Booker’s |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Four-Grain Bourbon | High-Rye Bourbon, Barrel Proof |
| Mash Bill 1 | 74% corn, 7% rye, 16% wheat, 3% malted barley | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 7 years |
| Proof | 98 proof (49% ABV) | 125 proof (62.5% ABV) +27 proof |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$80 – $100 ~$8 less | ~$85 – $110 |
- Booker’s does not publish an official mash bill.
- US shelf prices as of 2026-10; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Penelope Rio
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Booker’s
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Penelope Rio Booker’s
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
heat 5/10 heat: Penelope Rio 5 out of 10, Booker’s 10 out of 10
nuttiness 3/8 nuttiness: Penelope Rio 3 out of 10, Booker’s 8 out of 10
oak 4/8 oak: Penelope Rio 4 out of 10, Booker’s 8 out of 10
sweetness 9/7 sweetness: Penelope Rio 9 out of 10, Booker’s 7 out of 10
fruit 6/4 fruit: Penelope Rio 6 out of 10, Booker’s 4 out of 10
spice 6/7 spice: Penelope Rio 6 out of 10, Booker’s 7 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
These two land very differently on the palate for heat.
- Penelope Rio: Penelope's four-grain blend finished in honey barrels and then amburana wood. It tastes like a cinnamon roll: honey, gingerbread and sweet baking spice.
- Booker’s: Uncut, unfiltered Beam at batch strength, and the most concentrated expression of the house peanut-and-oak character. Enormous and hot, with a finish that goes on well past where you expect it to stop.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Penelope Rio if you want a honey-and-amburana-finished bourbon that tastes like a cinnamon roll at a slightly lower price point.
- Go with Booker’s if you want the Beam house style at full power and you have water on the table with significantly more proof behind it.
Best enjoyed neat, old-fashioned (Penelope Rio); neat (Booker’s).