The Last Call

  Penelope Marshmallow Toast Bourbon Whiskey Review.      Penelope has been on a roll lately, especially since settling under the MGP umbrella, and their recent limited releases have been grabbing attention for good reason. Marshmallow Toast debuted in late 2024 alongside the Cream Brûlée Architect in 2025, and each showcases Penelope’s knack for pulling highly specific flavor profiles from single barrels. I missed the excitement of batch one, but batch two found me at the right moment during my travels, and at a reasonable price. As a longtime Penelope fan and a lover of toasted bourbons, this release had me genuinely excited.      Batch one appears to have been closer to four years old, making batch two a slight age upgrade. The whiskey is then finished in heavily charred No. 3 casks, designed to coax out toasted sweetness, vanilla creaminess, and the “marshmallow toast” character they’re aiming for. The transparency behind this release only add...

Jack Daniel’s Heritage Barrel Toasted Barrel Whiskey Review.       Jack Daniel’s is no stranger to innovation, and the Heritage Barrel line continues to prove that the Tennessee giant still knows how to surprise even its long-time fans. The 2025  Toasted Barrel Edition  takes the brand’s familiar character and layers in new depth through an extended barrel toasting process. As someone who’s always appreciated the Single Barrel Selects for their rich balance and great value, I was eager to see what doubling the toast time could do.       What makes this expression unique is the barrel treatment: while standard Jack barrels are toasted for 12 minutes and then charred, the Heritage barrels are toasted for 24 minutes and flash-charred. That means more of those deep caramelized sugars and toasted oak flavors have time to develop. The whiskey goes though the Lincoln County Process of maple charcoal filtering and aged for at least seven years. ...

 Peerless Toasted Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review.      Peerless has never been shy about pushing bold, barrel proof whiskey with a style all their own. Their sweet mash process, eye-catching bottles, and dedication to non-chill filtration have earned them a loyal following, myself included. I’ve long been a fan of their Double Oak Bourbon and Rye, and when I heard a toasted version was hitting the shelves, I knew I had to track one down. Originally a distillery-only release, Batch 03 finally made its way to Indiana, and thanks to my buddy Rich over at Holly’s Package Store, one found its way into my hands.      Peerless takes the extra-labor route of sweet mash fermentation, fully emptying and cleaning the fermentation tanks between every batch. It’s a slower, more meticulous approach, but it allows each batch to develop its own unique fingerprint. This release takes their Kentucky Straight Bourbon and finishes it in toasted barrels, a techni...

Penelope Toasted 6 Year Rye Whiskey Review.      I received this spirit as a review sample from Penelope Bourbon. It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.     Now I've really enjoyed what Penelope has been releasing for the past few years. While they only officially hit here in Indiana around mid 2023, by first experience with them was the Toasted Rye, and I was hooked. Now flash forward and Penelope has access to even more MGP stock since they are under the same roof. In 2023 I really loved the Toasted rye relasesed and that was using a 100% rye. Now here in 2024 they tweaked the mash bill just slightly, changed the char level, and gave it a solid age statement. For the full video review visit the link here!:  https://youtu.be/6EfAIWIARqM Age Statement:  6 Years. ABV:  50%. Mashbill:  95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley. Area of Distillation:  Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Finishing:  Char #2 Barrel....

 Guardian Angel Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in a Toasted Cask Review.      I received this spirit as a review sample from Cattle Drive Bourbon/Nola Distillery, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      I enjoy Texas whiskey. I know it is can be a dividing area for some, but personally I love the dark, oaky, and rich profile they can bring. Now, to be honest, once I saw someone taking a Texas profile and finishing it in a toasted cask, it caught my attention for sure. Typically for me a toasted cask brings out some sweeter, lighter flavors. So my mind says this could be a beautiful marriage  of bold and sweet.      Now, due to the nature of the name Guardian Angel, I wanted to share that story.  It honors an F-16 fighter pilot who flew rescue missions to support U.S. Marines. He did this to such a degree he was given the title of "Guardian Angel." In fact, they’...

 Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Toasted Rye Whiskey Review.      Over the past year, Rye whiskey has truly started marking a name for itself. In my opinion, big distilleries were preparing for such a shift years ago, getting their rye aging and preparing for the "bourbon rush" people to start looking around for something a bit different. And while your craft distilleries were always more willing to work with rye, it seems your big distilleries are finally willing to commit. I always looked at rye as the IPA of the whiskey world.       Personally I the few times I had rye, it was always an uneventful dram. This was mainly because so many ryes come from MGP, at I just wasn't prepared for the herbal/medicinal flavors. However, over the past year, I really grown fond of rye, really seeing that rye can be a great dram and I crave that herbalness in a good rye. For the full video review visit the link here!:  https://youtu.be/tf8WKNSYPJU Age Statem...