Penelope Marshmallow Toasted Bourbon Review & Barrel Strength Comparison with Special Guest Mike brings a sweet twist to Pour Decisions Wednesday. This week on Tortured Bourbon, Heather and B are joined by Mike — a fan-turned-guest who brought not one, but two bottles of Penelope Bourbon to the table.

First up: Penelope Marshmallow Toasted Bourbon, a barrel strength straight bourbon finished in heavy toast, Char 5 barrels. Packed with flavor notes of marshmallow, butterscotch, caramel, and spice, this toasted bourbon is designed for bourbon drinkers who crave sweetness with depth.

Then, Mike surprises us with Penelope Barrel Strength Four Grain Bourbon — a nutty, rich, and bold whiskey with layers of caramel, toffee, pecan, and pepper. Side by side, these pours highlight just how much mash bills and barrel finishes can shape a bourbon’s character.

If you’re searching for a bourbon review, bourbon tasting, or want to know how toasted bourbon compares to barrel strength classics, this episode has it all. Watch, sip, and decide which Penelope pour wins your shelf.

Bourbon with a purpose. Penelope’s Answer to Cancer isn’t just another limited release — it’s a bottle designed to raise awareness, funding, and hope in the fight against cancer. For us at Tortured Bourbon, it’s personal. B is riding 300 miles to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and every pour of this release connects to that mission. Together, bottle and bike remind us that bourbon can do more than taste good — it can bring a community together to make a difference.

👉 Donate to the ride here: https://gofund.me/06efe610

In this Pour Decisions Wednesday, Heather and B explore Penelope Project X Bourbon—a sherry cask finished experiment that pushes Penelope beyond Instagram-aesthetic vibes into bold, premium bourbon territory. With rich dark fruit, burnt sugar, and tobacco notes, does Project X stand above Architect, Toasted, and Rosé? Watch the blind review unfold.

Weller Bourbon and Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon share the same Buffalo Trace wheated bourbon mash bill, but are they really the same? Explore the truth behind allocated Kentucky bourbon, the “poor man’s Pappy” myth, and why these bottles remain the most hunted in the bourbon world.

Three wheated bourbons, one Indiana distillery, and a whole lot of transparency talk. In this Tortured Bourbon episode, we review and rank Rare Saint, Old Louisville, and Fiddler Chin Music—all sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Proof, finishing, and honesty collide in this deep-dive tasting.

Explore Maker’s Mark’s Wood Finishing Series with our bourbon tasting and review of FAE-02, BRT-01, and BEP. Discover how custom toasted staves transform Maker’s classic wheated bourbon into three unique pours. Perfect for bourbon lovers and Maker’s Mark fans alike!

This week on Tortured Bourbon, we plug in the electric guitar and crank up the chaos as we dive into New Riff—tasting their Bottled-in-Bond (100 proof) and Single Barrel (117.3 proof) bourbons. Both are high-rye Kentucky classics with serious spice, bold oak, and enough caramel to keep us coming back. We break down mash bills, nosing notes, palate surprises, and run them through our Tortured Bourbon scale. If you love bourbon with attitude—and a little guitar showboating—this one’s for you. Cheers y’all, and stay tortured! 🥃

Is the Penelope Peach Old Fashioned Bourbon a peachy summer delight or just a syrupy mess? We poured it neat and on ice to find out — and Katie shocked us all.

Eagle Rare vs Russell’s Reserve 10 — who wins the ultimate 10-year bourbon showdown? In this unscripted episode, we taste, compare, and argue over two Kentucky legends to see which bottle truly deserves your shelf space.

🇺🇸 Celebrating July 4th & 1 year of Tortured Bourbon with Evan Williams 1783 American Heroes Edition. Veteran-picked, budget-friendly, tasty.

Join Tortured Bourbon as we tackle Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A125, the first big bourbon release of 2025. Is it a banger or a bust? Full tasting, review, and laughs inside.

Two barrels. Two char levels. One flavor war. In this episode of Tortured Bourbon, Heather and B pit Penelope Toasted Rye (char 1) against Penelope Toasted Bourbon (char 4) in a showdown of grain, fire, and finish. From marshmallow fluff to burnt toffee, this toasted battle proves that char level isn’t just a detail—it’s destiny.

In this Tortured Bourbon showdown, Heather and B tackle three Larceny Barrel Proof bottles—A124, C920, and C924—breaking down their confusing codes, tasting each batch live, and ranking them using their signature system. Are they bourbon… or robots?

In the finale of Old Forester Fridays, we put the legendary fan-made 1915 blend to the test. Can a DIY mix of 1910 and 1920 really beat the originals? Join Heather, B, and Aaron as they sip, rank, and settle the score in this high-proof showdown filled with flavor, fandom, and a fake label.

Is Missouri hiding one of the best barrel strength bourbons out there? In this Pour Decisions Wednesday, we explore Ben Holladay Rickhouse Proof—a bold, historic, grain-to-glass powerhouse from the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi. High proof, deep flavor, and zero hype. This one’s a sleeper hit.

This week on Old Forester Fridays, we take on a battle of bourbon identities: the sharply dressed, cinematic smooth-talker versus the rugged, smoke-slinging ranch hand. In one corner, it’s Old Forester Statesman, a 95-proof bourbon dressed to the nines in sleek branding and backed by a movie franchise. In the other, it’s Old Forester King Ranch Edition, a bolder, 105-proof Texas collaboration that swaps out polish for mesquite smoke and leather-wrapped bravado.

Both bottles carry the Old Forester name, both sit at the higher end of your bourbon shelf—and both lean hard into marketing, image, and storytelling. But do either of them actually deliver on flavor? Or are we just paying for the label?

Join Heather and B as they dig into the mash bills, barrel treatments, branding choices, and of course—the taste. With Heather playing fashion critic and B playing rodeo clown, this episode asks the big question: is there any real substance under all that style?

If you’ve ever picked up a bottle because it looked cool or had a story, this is the episode for you.

In Part 2 of our Bardstown Bourbon deep dive, we explore two experimental showstoppers from their Collaborative Series—a Small Batch Stave Finish and a Silver Oak Cabernet-finished bourbon. Blending, finishing, and bold flavor collide in this bourbon tasting that proves Bardstown isn’t just playing the game—they’re rewriting the rules.

In this third episode of Pour Decisions Wednesday, we pour one out for Indiana’s heritage distilling with a lesser-known wheated bourbon that’s been turning quiet heads in craft whiskey circles: William Dalton Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon from Spirits of French Lick.

Forget the mass-produced mash bills and corporate-age statements—this is bourbon the old-school way: grain-to-glass, pot-stilled, and made with locally sourced ingredients. At 100 proof and over four years old, this craft wheater pays tribute to William Dalton, an early Indiana distiller whose legacy lives on in this small-batch bottle.

What happens when you take three 100-proof Old Forester bourbons, put them side-by-side, and ask two unqualified but overly confident bourbon nerds to judge them? You get one of the most evenly matched, high-proof tasting showdowns in Tortured Bourbon history.

In this episode, we line up:

🥃 The Contenders

• Old Forester Signature 100 Proof

  A classic, budget-friendly workhorse that punches above its price point. Think caramel, banana bread, and a touch of spice—if your everyday pour wore a flannel and fixed your lawn mower.

• Old Forester Store Pick (Single Barrel 100 Proof)

  A more personalized expression with variation depending on the pick. Ours brought the heat and a little swagger. It’s the bourbon equivalent of showing up to a tasting in cowboy boots and quoting Hemingway.

• Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond

  Part of the Whiskey Row Series. Same proof, but the story—and price tag—take a leap. Rich, layered, and aiming for prestige with a nod to the 1897 Bottled in Bond Act.

In this episode of Tortured Bourbon, we delve into the heart of Kentucky’s bourbon innovation by exploring the Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Origin Series. Known for their modern approach and commitment to quality, Bardstown Bourbon Company has introduced a lineup that challenges traditional bourbon norms. But do these expressions signify the future of bourbon, or are they just another trend?