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Penelope Rio vs Penelope Toasted Series
Penelope Rio and Penelope Toasted Series sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: a blender-built, classically built bottling versus a sourced, rye-forward blend.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Penelope Rio | Penelope Toasted Series |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Four-Grain Bourbon | High-Rye Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 74% corn, 7% rye, 16% wheat, 3% malted barley | 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Proof | 98 proof (49% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) +2 proof |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$80 – $100 | ~$55 – $70 ~$28 less |
| Availability | Limited | Widely available easier to find |
- 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.
Penelope Toasted Series
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Penelope Rio Penelope Toasted Series
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
oak 4/7 oak: Penelope Rio 4 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 7 out of 10
sweetness 9/7 sweetness: Penelope Rio 9 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 7 out of 10
fruit 6/4 fruit: Penelope Rio 6 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 4 out of 10
spice 6/5 spice: Penelope Rio 6 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 5 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Penelope Rio 5 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 5 out of 10
nuttiness 3/3 nuttiness: Penelope Rio 3 out of 10, Penelope Toasted Series 3 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Oak is doing most of the differentiating here.
- 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.
- Penelope Toasted Series: Finished in a second, freshly toasted barrel, which pushes it toward toffee, roasted coffee and darker oak. The toast level changes from batch to batch.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Penelope Rio if you want a honey-and-amburana-finished bourbon that tastes like a cinnamon roll.
- Go with Penelope Toasted Series if you want a toasty, coffee-and-toffee bourbon from a second-barrel finish at a lower price point and without hunting for it.
Best enjoyed neat, old-fashioned (Penelope Rio); neat, old-fashioned (Penelope Toasted Series).