August 28, 2025 • 20 mins
This week on Bourbon Bytes, I review the brand-new 2025 High West Bourye, the annual limited release blending straight bourbon and rye whiskey. How does this year’s edition stack up against past favorites, and is it worth the hunt? Plus, big whiskey headlines: Maker’s Mark brings back its Cellar Aged Bourbon, High West launches its first Bottled-in-Bond release aged at 4,000 ft, and Penelope Bourbon reveals a premium 2025 Estate Collection.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we're keeping the news train rolling with tons of new whiskey
releases for 2025, including the new Maker's Mark Cellar Ages release, High West's first
bottled-in-bond bourbon, and Penelope's new Estate Collection. Plus, I'm reviewing the
2025 release of High West Distillery's Bourye Whiskey. Hello everyone and welcome to the
(00:33):
Bourbon Bytes podcast. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, August 28th,
2025. And do I have a show for you today? Right off the heels of last week's episode with a bunch
of limited edition bourbon announcements, we have even more to talk about this week.
And this is to be expected as we get closer to fall. That seems to be the season where
(00:53):
all these new releases come out. There's so much to keep up with and I just want to make sure to
give you guys the highlights as soon as I find out about them. Whether or not we get to try
them on the podcast or the YouTube channel, that just depends on one, if I can find them on the
shelves. Two, if brands want to send me a sample for review, contact@bourbonbytes.com. Or if
friends are generous enough to let me try a sample from their bottles. But today we do have a fun
(01:17):
limited edition review of High West Bourye. I'm looking forward to getting into that with you
guys for this week's Byte Sized review. But first, we got to get through some news stories that I
think you should know about. I know I'm not the only one excited about this LE season, as we
call it, in bourbon and whiskey. But especially for me this year, one of the commitments I made
(01:38):
for the channel and the podcast this year is I was going to make sure to try some limited editions
that I normally would, you know, maybe miss just because they're high priced or harder to get.
But this year is all about finding them and giving you guys my honest thoughts on them.
I've done quite a few already, but hopefully some of the ones I talk about in this week's podcast
we get to try in the near future. So stay tuned to make sure to subscribe on YouTube and follow
(02:03):
me on your favorite podcast platform to be notified whenever I get a chance to try and
review these upcoming releases. Putting it out into the universe now, just just come on, bring
on the releases. The first new release I want to talk about today is Maker's Mark's Cellar Aged
Bourbon is back in 2025. So they started this back in 2023 originally, and they basically are
(02:26):
blending together some of their bourbon that has been aged at least half of their maturation cycles
in Maker's Mark's limestone cellar as opposed to the usual rickhouses where they spend most of
their aging. And this is a pretty rare process in whiskey. We see cellar aging a lot with wine,
but they are experimenting with it and it seems to be a really successful collection.
(02:46):
I did have a chance to try one of the previous releases and thought it was a unique take on
Maker's Mark, but this year they are blending an 11, a 13, and a 14 year old whiskey to make the
Maker's Mark Cellar Aged 2025 release. That's some really highly aged Maker's Mark. As you remember,
Maker's Mark doesn't typically do age statements on their standard releases. It's relatively new
(03:09):
for them to be doing it, so for them to be blending some of this oldest whiskey that
Maker's Mark has ever produced into a release is really, really cool. Now this is going to be
bottled at 56.45% or 112.9 proof. I'm assuming that's cask strength. I don't see it labeled as
cask strength here, but I think previous releases have been considered cask strength as well.
(03:30):
And it's going to be available first at the Maker's Mark gift shop. They're having a few
bottles available before anyone else in the country can get it. So if you are in Kentucky
and you are looking to get a bottle of that, they're going to release it on September 5th
before a wider nationwide release in mid-September. They haven't announced the number of bottles, but
we do know a little bit more about the blend. So 74% of it is an 11 year old bourbon, 10% is the
(03:57):
13 year old, and 16% is the 14 year old bourbon. They say that the whiskey is rich and balanced
and drinks more easily than its proof might suggest and settles into a refined finish.
So the reason that this is some of the oldest Maker's Mark we've ever seen is because the
cellar age process does kind of limit some of the oak impact on the bourbon. You know, if we had like a
(04:19):
14 year old Maker's Mark that was sitting in the rickhouses, they're saying that, you know, that
could lead to astringency or bitterness. You know, we've seen that before with some older bourbons.
Older doesn't always mean better. And I imagine they've probably done some experimenting with
older Maker's Mark and they didn't really find it up to par to release it at that age. But moving
it into these cellars, they could kind of round it out, give it a little more age without that
(04:41):
massive, you know, heat influence from the rickhouses. So that's really exciting. I would
love a chance to try this release. If you guys get a hand on it, let me know, especially if
you can compare it to the previous releases. Like I said, I had a sample of the 2023 one, I believe.
Didn't get a chance to do it side by side with any other Maker's Mark releases, but I do remember
really, really enjoying that. So I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this bottle. Pricing on
(05:04):
it is going to be $175, which is steep, but I think for a very well-aged Maker's Mark, that's
a pretty fair price. I think if you can get it close to retail, it's definitely worth trying,
especially if you're a Maker's Mark fan and you like their high age, high proof releases.
All right, well, I'll keep the ball rolling with new releases. High West Distillery out of
(05:26):
Park City, Utah just announced their first bottled-in-bond bourbon that's been distilled exclusively
at their distillery in Utah. So High West is mostly known for their rye whiskey. They've
previously released a bottled-in-bond rye, but this is their first bottled-in-bond bourbon that
they've had that's, you know, made at their distillery. They used to source a lot from MGP
(05:48):
when they were first getting started. They're, like I said, mostly a rye distillery. When I
went to do the tour, that's basically all we talked about was the rye. The bourbon was something that
they were, you know, you know, I felt like more of like an experimental thing for them, but rye is
where they excelled at. So I'm really curious to see how this bourbon is. My experience with their
bourbon is relatively limited. Mostly their rye is what I gravitate towards. But like I said,
(06:10):
today's review, we're going to review their Bourye, which is a blend of straight whiskeys. Now,
it's not all distilled at their distillery. We'll get into the mash bill and all that.
But this is a pretty exciting release. It's going to sell for $80. It's available for pre-sale now
on their website. It's supposed to ship mid to late August. So either like very, very soon,
(06:31):
maybe by the time this podcast comes out, they'll be available. The mash bill is 36% rye and 64%
non-GMO yellow corn. So there's no malted barley in this bourbon, which is interesting. They just
stuck with a corn and rye mash bill. This has been aged for four years and five months, and
it's bottled at 100 proof, as are all bottled-in-bond bourbons and ryes. So not only is it going to
(06:53):
be available on their website at the distillery, but it's also going to go nationwide for a
suggested retail price of $79.99. It's not that I'd be interested in trying, you know, their bourbon
is not really what they're known for, but it doesn't mean they can't make a good spirit. But
congrats to them for having a bottled and bond bourbon that they've distilled themselves. That's
not something I expected to see out of High West, at least this soon with their focus being so much
(07:17):
on rye whiskey, but good for them. All right. Last piece of new whiskey news comes to us from
Penelope Bourbon. They just announced their 2025 Estate Collection, which is a highly anticipated
collection showcasing higher age statements, new innovation and increased allocation across
each release. So this year they're having five different expressions with minimum age statements
(07:40):
of 10 years old. It includes a reimagined Founders Reserve Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey,
the introduction of new Omega straight bourbon whiskey finished in Omega French oak barrels,
and the award winning single barrel and private select bourbons. So they released the Penelope
Estate Collection last year and ended up winning a ton of awards. So I'm excited to see what they
(08:01):
have to bring to the table this year. I think one of the highlights is the Founders Reserve 13 year
old Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey that they have, um, suggested retail of $199.99. It is a
mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley age for 13 years and bottled a cask
strength at 121.4 proof. Now, interestingly enough, this is a Kentucky bourbon. So, um, I would
(08:27):
imagine this is probably sourced from one of the legacy distilleries, um, because most of what
Penelope does is out of Indiana. So it's exciting to see some, uh, Kentucky bourbon in the mix this
year. Now, like I said, they're also introducing a new addition to the lineup, which is an Omega
11 year straight bourbon whiskey. And this kind of feels like an evolution of their Architect
series. Um, they're working with the same Cooperage, um, that's known for their OakScan technology,
(08:51):
which scientifically select staves with the exact chemical composition needed to achieve the
desired flavor profile. If you've been following these releases, they have like the OakScan on the
back of the bottle, but this one is using their Omega barrels, which are considered the pinnacle
of French oak innovation. They say this is crafted with rare tight grain oak and meticulously designed
(09:11):
toast profile. Of course, starting with the 11 year old distillate and then putting it into these
finishing casks, you're adding even more depth and, um, nuances to that bourbon. The mash bill
on this one is going to be 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. And it's going to be bottled
at 109.8 proof. These are going to come in at $129.99. Um, there's going to be a limited allocation
(09:34):
of 1800 cases of 750 milliliter bottles and available in select markets starting in September.
Now this next one's interesting. They're having two different releases of their single barrel,
10 year bourbon, both of which are going to be going for $89.99 retail. The first of which is
a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley bottled at 99 proof. The second of which
(09:59):
is going to be a mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley bottled at 103 proof. So
there's a bit of a lower rye bourbon and a higher rye bourbon, um, both at different proof points,
but same price point. They say that these hand selected barrels, uh, showcase the nuanced
complexity of the finest stock of well-aged bourbon, um, and deemed too exceptional to blend.
(10:22):
So exciting to see two different releases of that. I love both of those mash bills from Indiana.
Um, curious to see that they are bottled at lower proof than cask strength. I'm wondering what that
decision was, was for, was it to get more of the bottles or was it just because they felt like they
excelled at those proof points? Would be curious to, to try those though. Some very, very interesting.
And lastly is the private select 10 year bourbon at $79.99 retail. This is also aged 10 years. Um,
(10:50):
it has a mash bill of 74% corn, 20% rye, 1% wheat and 5% malted barley. Now, even though this is
called private select, it is a blended bourbon. So that's what sets it apart from those single
barrels we saw earlier. This one is bottled at 106.8 proof. Now, according to Michael Palladini,
who is the founder of Penelope bourbon and vice president of strategy of MGP ingredients,
(11:13):
he says that this year's collection is their most exciting and accessible yet.
It's going to be available this September in select markets with first access to the entire
collection exclusively at Lux Row Distillers beginning on Friday, September 5th at 9am EST.
They also have a product locator on their website. If you want to look for it outside of the area.
Now I'll leave it to you fine folks to decide if you're in the area to go to pick up either
(11:35):
these releases or the Maker's Mark Cellar Aged, both are coming out on the same day.
Um, so you can make me make a whole day of it. Maybe I would probably start out at Maker's Mark.
I don't know what time they're opening, but, um, yeah, I imagine those Cellar Aged releases are
going to go fast and then make your way over to Lux Row to get this one, but we should be a fun
day to do some bourbon hunting. I wish I could make it out there. All right. Well, that does it for
(11:58):
our news this week. No video game news. Um, I know there's a Nintendo Direct supposedly rumored to
be coming out in September, so we'll have lots of new updates then, but I think it's time for us to
move into our Byte-Sized review. All right. Well, earlier in the podcast, we talked about High West
(12:20):
new bottled-in-bond bourbon. So I thought the closest thing I had to it was this brand new
2025 release of their Bourye. Now, when I saw this at my local grocery store, I was a bit confused
because I thought that they had changed boo ride to being a distillery only release. Turns out that
was a temporary decision because the 2025 release is back available nationally. So definitely picked
(12:44):
this up when I saw it. Um, if you're not familiar with Bourye, it is a blend of straight whiskies.
Um, Bourye comes from the name bourbon and rye, and this one is a blend of several. It's marrying
two straight rye whiskey mash bills with three straight bourbon whiskey mash bills. So this is
going to be a mouthful, but let me, let me go for it. So of the five, the first is a 95/5 rye from MGP.
(13:08):
The second is an 80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West distillery. Next up is another MGP
mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley followed by another MGP mash bill of 60% corn,
36% rye, and 4% malted barley. And lastly, a 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley from an
(13:29):
undisclosed Kentucky distillery. Now doing a quick Google search shows that to be a Heaven Hill
mash bill, particularly the one used for Elijah Craig. So not to confirm or deny, but that does
seem to be where that whiskey is sourced from. Now what's interesting is that all of these
components have been aged for a minimum of 10 years old and new charred white American oak
barrels, um, before being blended and bottled without chill filtration and bottled at 92 proof.
(13:56):
So that means the High West distillate in here, the 80% rye, 20% malted rye is at least 10 years old.
That's gotta be some of their oldest stuff I've ever seen them, you know, put out. That's pretty
cool. And of course we love some high age MGP and 10 years from Heaven Hill, you know, nothing to
snuff at as well. Retail on this bottle is $124.99. I think I paid about that. Maybe a little
(14:18):
bit more. It was a Gelson's, so a little bit higher end of a grocery store, but I knew I wouldn't pass
up the opportunity to give it a try for close to retail, especially because I was very confused,
which led me to finding out that they are no longer distillery only. So I picked up a bottle.
So let's go ahead and open up and see how it tastes. So there is a batch number on my bottle.
It does say batch 25A28. Not sure how many batches of this, but just want to give that in
(14:43):
case you had the same bottle, but this is indeed a 2025 version of Bourye. All right, let's go
and give this Bourye a nose. Oh, that's beautiful. Wow. Not really what I expected. It kind of has like
a menthol kind of note, kind of similar to like a Vicks Vapor Rub. I don't mean that in a bad way, but
I wasn't expecting that to be the first thing I got on the nose here. But that is followed by a sweet
(15:06):
fruitiness, almost like cherry. Very, very bright on the nose. Wow. I mean, I don't know what I
expected a Bourye to smell like, but that's definitely not it. Once I've kind of gotten more
into it, the menthol kind of goes away a little bit. It still does read really herbaceous and bright.
I'm getting almost an apple note to it now, but like a freshly sliced green apple, not a, you know,
(15:31):
apple pie or anything, but just really crisp apples. That cherry is still there, but it's kind of reading
more of like a candied cherry, almost like the filling of like a chocolate covered cherry.
I don't know if I'm getting as much of the chocolate of it, though, just the cherry and the
sugar filling. Really beautiful, though. I could see this being made into a candle. I think it would be a great
holiday candle. The menthol is still there. And, you know, sometimes I feel like that could come
(15:53):
across as a bit medicinal, especially with blended with the cherry. But to me, it's coming across
more of a very light, delicate, bright, fruity dessert. All right. I've been intrigued by this
nose for far long enough. I'm going to go in for a taste. Cheers. Oh, wow. Definitely a different
(16:14):
experience than the nose. It's still fruity, but it kind of goes a little more citrus on the
palate. And the oak is showing up as well, but it's not the typical oak you would expect for
something so old. It's definitely more of like a like a cedar chest kind of note of oak. It's got
that like antique kind of dusty quality to it. I'm going for a second taste of that because that was
interesting. Wow. Yeah. I mean, completely unexpected. You know, there's a very specific
(16:37):
thing that comes to mind when I taste this, and it's sometimes when I go to a really nice cocktail
bar or whiskey bar and I get an old fashioned, they have the orange slice, but they put in the
cloves into the orange slice and they do a bit of a char on it. And then they put that into the old
fashion. To me, it's kind of like a culmination of those flavors. The bitter orange peel note,
but combined with that clove and that like little bit of char, it's really, really nice. I think
(17:00):
this in a cocktail would be fantastic. I mean, it's nothing like I expected, especially seeing
that everything's 10 years old. It's not that it doesn't have that depth of character. It does. It
is expressing itself very differently than I expected. Normally I expect it to be super
oak forward, a bit tannic and, you know, or even some really like saturated oaky notes,
kind of like a Jim Beam product. But this is bright. It's fruity. It's refined. And it does
(17:24):
taste like a limited edition release. I always say certain whiskeys have a LE note, and this is
exactly what I'm talking about. This is unique. This is unlike anything I've had before. And
I dig it. I will say the only, I guess, downfall is with the finish. It's just, it's so bright and
fruit forward. The finish doesn't really linger in a way that I kind of expected to be with it
(17:44):
being so old. It's kind of a short to medium finish, but it does leave you with a nice spice
note. I think it's like that clove and orange combo that I was getting earlier. And it does
leave you with a bit of a coated mouth. Like I do feel the oil is still kind of lingering,
even though the finish is gone. It's still kind of leaving some of those lingering elements,
just covering my palate. How interesting. This is a unique one, especially when I go into like
(18:06):
my overall thoughts and score and recommendation. I will say price-wise, you know, $124.99 retail
is a bit up there, but this is a unique experience. It's something I've never really
had before. It's very different from what their other LEs are, like A Midwinter's Night Dram,
which is one of my favorite bottles. Still brings in a lot of similar elements, but it's expressing
(18:27):
itself way differently here. I think it's worth a buy for the price. If you're a fan of High West
flavor profiles, I don't necessarily see myself picking up a second bottle of it. Maybe next
year's release though, for sure. I'd be curious to see how this evolves over time. So this is one
I would say to grab one, see how you like it. And if you absolutely love it, go out, buy more. But
if you're like me and you feel like it's delicious, it's great, but not something for you every day,
(18:51):
maybe wait until each year's release. Scoring this one, I mean, this is really nice and unique.
I think I'll have to give this one a 8 out of 10 for my score. I've been trying to do scores more
often now, especially when I'm doing the written reviews of these on Reddit, which I've started
posting more recently now. Sometimes it's an easy way to kind of quickly gauge if something is worth
buying. For me, this is an 8 out of 10 because it's so unique. It's something I've never had before.
(19:14):
It's not that crazy of a price. It's not that hard to find. At least it wasn't in my area.
Even though that can be seen as a really high rating, I think it's, you know, on par with what
I expect some limited edition bourbons to be. I want them to be unique. I want them to be something
I've never experienced before or at least have some qualities that I associate with being,
you know, either well aged, well blended or just a damn good whiskey. And this checks a lot of those
(19:39):
boxes. So, yeah, that's my thoughts on High West's Bourye for 2025. I like it. I'm surprised by it.
I am bewildered, should I say, but definitely going to keep an eye out for these in the future.
I'm curious to see how it compares to other batches. All right. Well, thank you guys so much again for
listening. As always, feel free to leave me your comments and thoughts of the podcast. You can email
(20:01):
me, contact@bourbonbytes.com. Send me a message on social media @BourbonBytes or give me a call
at 916-64-BYTES. That's 916-642-9837. Leave me a voicemail with your questions or suggestions or
comments and I will feature them on next week's show if you want me to. Or if you want to keep it
(20:22):
private, just let me know and I'll keep it between us. I'll talk to you guys next week. This has been
the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers. And I'll talk to you guys
next episode. Bye.
Today on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we're keeping the news train rolling with tons of new whiskey
releases for 2025, including the new Maker's Mark Cellar Ages release, High West's first
bottled-in-bond bourbon, and Penelope's new Estate Collection. Plus, I'm reviewing the
2025 release of High West Distillery's Bourye Whiskey. Hello everyone and welcome to the
(00:33):
Bourbon Bytes podcast. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, August 28th,
2025. And do I have a show for you today? Right off the heels of last week's episode with a bunch
of limited edition bourbon announcements, we have even more to talk about this week.
And this is to be expected as we get closer to fall. That seems to be the season where
(00:53):
all these new releases come out. There's so much to keep up with and I just want to make sure to
give you guys the highlights as soon as I find out about them. Whether or not we get to try
them on the podcast or the YouTube channel, that just depends on one, if I can find them on the
shelves. Two, if brands want to send me a sample for review, contact@bourbonbytes.com. Or if
friends are generous enough to let me try a sample from their bottles. But today we do have a fun
(01:17):
limited edition review of High West Bourye. I'm looking forward to getting into that with you
guys for this week's Byte Sized review. But first, we got to get through some news stories that I
think you should know about. I know I'm not the only one excited about this LE season, as we
call it, in bourbon and whiskey. But especially for me this year, one of the commitments I made
(01:38):
for the channel and the podcast this year is I was going to make sure to try some limited editions
that I normally would, you know, maybe miss just because they're high priced or harder to get.
But this year is all about finding them and giving you guys my honest thoughts on them.
I've done quite a few already, but hopefully some of the ones I talk about in this week's podcast
we get to try in the near future. So stay tuned to make sure to subscribe on YouTube and follow
(02:03):
me on your favorite podcast platform to be notified whenever I get a chance to try and
review these upcoming releases. Putting it out into the universe now, just just come on, bring
on the releases. The first new release I want to talk about today is Maker's Mark's Cellar Aged
Bourbon is back in 2025. So they started this back in 2023 originally, and they basically are
(02:26):
blending together some of their bourbon that has been aged at least half of their maturation cycles
in Maker's Mark's limestone cellar as opposed to the usual rickhouses where they spend most of
their aging. And this is a pretty rare process in whiskey. We see cellar aging a lot with wine,
but they are experimenting with it and it seems to be a really successful collection.
(02:46):
I did have a chance to try one of the previous releases and thought it was a unique take on
Maker's Mark, but this year they are blending an 11, a 13, and a 14 year old whiskey to make the
Maker's Mark Cellar Aged 2025 release. That's some really highly aged Maker's Mark. As you remember,
Maker's Mark doesn't typically do age statements on their standard releases. It's relatively new
(03:09):
for them to be doing it, so for them to be blending some of this oldest whiskey that
Maker's Mark has ever produced into a release is really, really cool. Now this is going to be
bottled at 56.45% or 112.9 proof. I'm assuming that's cask strength. I don't see it labeled as
cask strength here, but I think previous releases have been considered cask strength as well.
(03:30):
And it's going to be available first at the Maker's Mark gift shop. They're having a few
bottles available before anyone else in the country can get it. So if you are in Kentucky
and you are looking to get a bottle of that, they're going to release it on September 5th
before a wider nationwide release in mid-September. They haven't announced the number of bottles, but
we do know a little bit more about the blend. So 74% of it is an 11 year old bourbon, 10% is the
(03:57):
13 year old, and 16% is the 14 year old bourbon. They say that the whiskey is rich and balanced
and drinks more easily than its proof might suggest and settles into a refined finish.
So the reason that this is some of the oldest Maker's Mark we've ever seen is because the
cellar age process does kind of limit some of the oak impact on the bourbon. You know, if we had like a
(04:19):
14 year old Maker's Mark that was sitting in the rickhouses, they're saying that, you know, that
could lead to astringency or bitterness. You know, we've seen that before with some older bourbons.
Older doesn't always mean better. And I imagine they've probably done some experimenting with
older Maker's Mark and they didn't really find it up to par to release it at that age. But moving
it into these cellars, they could kind of round it out, give it a little more age without that
(04:41):
massive, you know, heat influence from the rickhouses. So that's really exciting. I would
love a chance to try this release. If you guys get a hand on it, let me know, especially if
you can compare it to the previous releases. Like I said, I had a sample of the 2023 one, I believe.
Didn't get a chance to do it side by side with any other Maker's Mark releases, but I do remember
really, really enjoying that. So I will definitely be keeping an eye out for this bottle. Pricing on
(05:04):
it is going to be $175, which is steep, but I think for a very well-aged Maker's Mark, that's
a pretty fair price. I think if you can get it close to retail, it's definitely worth trying,
especially if you're a Maker's Mark fan and you like their high age, high proof releases.
All right, well, I'll keep the ball rolling with new releases. High West Distillery out of
(05:26):
Park City, Utah just announced their first bottled-in-bond bourbon that's been distilled exclusively
at their distillery in Utah. So High West is mostly known for their rye whiskey. They've
previously released a bottled-in-bond rye, but this is their first bottled-in-bond bourbon that
they've had that's, you know, made at their distillery. They used to source a lot from MGP
(05:48):
when they were first getting started. They're, like I said, mostly a rye distillery. When I
went to do the tour, that's basically all we talked about was the rye. The bourbon was something that
they were, you know, you know, I felt like more of like an experimental thing for them, but rye is
where they excelled at. So I'm really curious to see how this bourbon is. My experience with their
bourbon is relatively limited. Mostly their rye is what I gravitate towards. But like I said,
(06:10):
today's review, we're going to review their Bourye, which is a blend of straight whiskeys. Now,
it's not all distilled at their distillery. We'll get into the mash bill and all that.
But this is a pretty exciting release. It's going to sell for $80. It's available for pre-sale now
on their website. It's supposed to ship mid to late August. So either like very, very soon,
(06:31):
maybe by the time this podcast comes out, they'll be available. The mash bill is 36% rye and 64%
non-GMO yellow corn. So there's no malted barley in this bourbon, which is interesting. They just
stuck with a corn and rye mash bill. This has been aged for four years and five months, and
it's bottled at 100 proof, as are all bottled-in-bond bourbons and ryes. So not only is it going to
(06:53):
be available on their website at the distillery, but it's also going to go nationwide for a
suggested retail price of $79.99. It's not that I'd be interested in trying, you know, their bourbon
is not really what they're known for, but it doesn't mean they can't make a good spirit. But
congrats to them for having a bottled and bond bourbon that they've distilled themselves. That's
not something I expected to see out of High West, at least this soon with their focus being so much
(07:17):
on rye whiskey, but good for them. All right. Last piece of new whiskey news comes to us from
Penelope Bourbon. They just announced their 2025 Estate Collection, which is a highly anticipated
collection showcasing higher age statements, new innovation and increased allocation across
each release. So this year they're having five different expressions with minimum age statements
(07:40):
of 10 years old. It includes a reimagined Founders Reserve Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey,
the introduction of new Omega straight bourbon whiskey finished in Omega French oak barrels,
and the award winning single barrel and private select bourbons. So they released the Penelope
Estate Collection last year and ended up winning a ton of awards. So I'm excited to see what they
(08:01):
have to bring to the table this year. I think one of the highlights is the Founders Reserve 13 year
old Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey that they have, um, suggested retail of $199.99. It is a
mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley age for 13 years and bottled a cask
strength at 121.4 proof. Now, interestingly enough, this is a Kentucky bourbon. So, um, I would
(08:27):
imagine this is probably sourced from one of the legacy distilleries, um, because most of what
Penelope does is out of Indiana. So it's exciting to see some, uh, Kentucky bourbon in the mix this
year. Now, like I said, they're also introducing a new addition to the lineup, which is an Omega
11 year straight bourbon whiskey. And this kind of feels like an evolution of their Architect
series. Um, they're working with the same Cooperage, um, that's known for their OakScan technology,
(08:51):
which scientifically select staves with the exact chemical composition needed to achieve the
desired flavor profile. If you've been following these releases, they have like the OakScan on the
back of the bottle, but this one is using their Omega barrels, which are considered the pinnacle
of French oak innovation. They say this is crafted with rare tight grain oak and meticulously designed
(09:11):
toast profile. Of course, starting with the 11 year old distillate and then putting it into these
finishing casks, you're adding even more depth and, um, nuances to that bourbon. The mash bill
on this one is going to be 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. And it's going to be bottled
at 109.8 proof. These are going to come in at $129.99. Um, there's going to be a limited allocation
(09:34):
of 1800 cases of 750 milliliter bottles and available in select markets starting in September.
Now this next one's interesting. They're having two different releases of their single barrel,
10 year bourbon, both of which are going to be going for $89.99 retail. The first of which is
a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley bottled at 99 proof. The second of which
(09:59):
is going to be a mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley bottled at 103 proof. So
there's a bit of a lower rye bourbon and a higher rye bourbon, um, both at different proof points,
but same price point. They say that these hand selected barrels, uh, showcase the nuanced
complexity of the finest stock of well-aged bourbon, um, and deemed too exceptional to blend.
(10:22):
So exciting to see two different releases of that. I love both of those mash bills from Indiana.
Um, curious to see that they are bottled at lower proof than cask strength. I'm wondering what that
decision was, was for, was it to get more of the bottles or was it just because they felt like they
excelled at those proof points? Would be curious to, to try those though. Some very, very interesting.
And lastly is the private select 10 year bourbon at $79.99 retail. This is also aged 10 years. Um,
(10:50):
it has a mash bill of 74% corn, 20% rye, 1% wheat and 5% malted barley. Now, even though this is
called private select, it is a blended bourbon. So that's what sets it apart from those single
barrels we saw earlier. This one is bottled at 106.8 proof. Now, according to Michael Palladini,
who is the founder of Penelope bourbon and vice president of strategy of MGP ingredients,
(11:13):
he says that this year's collection is their most exciting and accessible yet.
It's going to be available this September in select markets with first access to the entire
collection exclusively at Lux Row Distillers beginning on Friday, September 5th at 9am EST.
They also have a product locator on their website. If you want to look for it outside of the area.
Now I'll leave it to you fine folks to decide if you're in the area to go to pick up either
(11:35):
these releases or the Maker's Mark Cellar Aged, both are coming out on the same day.
Um, so you can make me make a whole day of it. Maybe I would probably start out at Maker's Mark.
I don't know what time they're opening, but, um, yeah, I imagine those Cellar Aged releases are
going to go fast and then make your way over to Lux Row to get this one, but we should be a fun
day to do some bourbon hunting. I wish I could make it out there. All right. Well, that does it for
(11:58):
our news this week. No video game news. Um, I know there's a Nintendo Direct supposedly rumored to
be coming out in September, so we'll have lots of new updates then, but I think it's time for us to
move into our Byte-Sized review. All right. Well, earlier in the podcast, we talked about High West
(12:20):
new bottled-in-bond bourbon. So I thought the closest thing I had to it was this brand new
2025 release of their Bourye. Now, when I saw this at my local grocery store, I was a bit confused
because I thought that they had changed boo ride to being a distillery only release. Turns out that
was a temporary decision because the 2025 release is back available nationally. So definitely picked
(12:44):
this up when I saw it. Um, if you're not familiar with Bourye, it is a blend of straight whiskies.
Um, Bourye comes from the name bourbon and rye, and this one is a blend of several. It's marrying
two straight rye whiskey mash bills with three straight bourbon whiskey mash bills. So this is
going to be a mouthful, but let me, let me go for it. So of the five, the first is a 95/5 rye from MGP.
(13:08):
The second is an 80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West distillery. Next up is another MGP
mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% barley followed by another MGP mash bill of 60% corn,
36% rye, and 4% malted barley. And lastly, a 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley from an
(13:29):
undisclosed Kentucky distillery. Now doing a quick Google search shows that to be a Heaven Hill
mash bill, particularly the one used for Elijah Craig. So not to confirm or deny, but that does
seem to be where that whiskey is sourced from. Now what's interesting is that all of these
components have been aged for a minimum of 10 years old and new charred white American oak
barrels, um, before being blended and bottled without chill filtration and bottled at 92 proof.
(13:56):
So that means the High West distillate in here, the 80% rye, 20% malted rye is at least 10 years old.
That's gotta be some of their oldest stuff I've ever seen them, you know, put out. That's pretty
cool. And of course we love some high age MGP and 10 years from Heaven Hill, you know, nothing to
snuff at as well. Retail on this bottle is $124.99. I think I paid about that. Maybe a little
(14:18):
bit more. It was a Gelson's, so a little bit higher end of a grocery store, but I knew I wouldn't pass
up the opportunity to give it a try for close to retail, especially because I was very confused,
which led me to finding out that they are no longer distillery only. So I picked up a bottle.
So let's go ahead and open up and see how it tastes. So there is a batch number on my bottle.
It does say batch 25A28. Not sure how many batches of this, but just want to give that in
(14:43):
case you had the same bottle, but this is indeed a 2025 version of Bourye. All right, let's go
and give this Bourye a nose. Oh, that's beautiful. Wow. Not really what I expected. It kind of has like
a menthol kind of note, kind of similar to like a Vicks Vapor Rub. I don't mean that in a bad way, but
I wasn't expecting that to be the first thing I got on the nose here. But that is followed by a sweet
(15:06):
fruitiness, almost like cherry. Very, very bright on the nose. Wow. I mean, I don't know what I
expected a Bourye to smell like, but that's definitely not it. Once I've kind of gotten more
into it, the menthol kind of goes away a little bit. It still does read really herbaceous and bright.
I'm getting almost an apple note to it now, but like a freshly sliced green apple, not a, you know,
(15:31):
apple pie or anything, but just really crisp apples. That cherry is still there, but it's kind of reading
more of like a candied cherry, almost like the filling of like a chocolate covered cherry.
I don't know if I'm getting as much of the chocolate of it, though, just the cherry and the
sugar filling. Really beautiful, though. I could see this being made into a candle. I think it would be a great
holiday candle. The menthol is still there. And, you know, sometimes I feel like that could come
(15:53):
across as a bit medicinal, especially with blended with the cherry. But to me, it's coming across
more of a very light, delicate, bright, fruity dessert. All right. I've been intrigued by this
nose for far long enough. I'm going to go in for a taste. Cheers. Oh, wow. Definitely a different
(16:14):
experience than the nose. It's still fruity, but it kind of goes a little more citrus on the
palate. And the oak is showing up as well, but it's not the typical oak you would expect for
something so old. It's definitely more of like a like a cedar chest kind of note of oak. It's got
that like antique kind of dusty quality to it. I'm going for a second taste of that because that was
interesting. Wow. Yeah. I mean, completely unexpected. You know, there's a very specific
(16:37):
thing that comes to mind when I taste this, and it's sometimes when I go to a really nice cocktail
bar or whiskey bar and I get an old fashioned, they have the orange slice, but they put in the
cloves into the orange slice and they do a bit of a char on it. And then they put that into the old
fashion. To me, it's kind of like a culmination of those flavors. The bitter orange peel note,
but combined with that clove and that like little bit of char, it's really, really nice. I think
(17:00):
this in a cocktail would be fantastic. I mean, it's nothing like I expected, especially seeing
that everything's 10 years old. It's not that it doesn't have that depth of character. It does. It
is expressing itself very differently than I expected. Normally I expect it to be super
oak forward, a bit tannic and, you know, or even some really like saturated oaky notes,
kind of like a Jim Beam product. But this is bright. It's fruity. It's refined. And it does
(17:24):
taste like a limited edition release. I always say certain whiskeys have a LE note, and this is
exactly what I'm talking about. This is unique. This is unlike anything I've had before. And
I dig it. I will say the only, I guess, downfall is with the finish. It's just, it's so bright and
fruit forward. The finish doesn't really linger in a way that I kind of expected to be with it
(17:44):
being so old. It's kind of a short to medium finish, but it does leave you with a nice spice
note. I think it's like that clove and orange combo that I was getting earlier. And it does
leave you with a bit of a coated mouth. Like I do feel the oil is still kind of lingering,
even though the finish is gone. It's still kind of leaving some of those lingering elements,
just covering my palate. How interesting. This is a unique one, especially when I go into like
(18:06):
my overall thoughts and score and recommendation. I will say price-wise, you know, $124.99 retail
is a bit up there, but this is a unique experience. It's something I've never really
had before. It's very different from what their other LEs are, like A Midwinter's Night Dram,
which is one of my favorite bottles. Still brings in a lot of similar elements, but it's expressing
(18:27):
itself way differently here. I think it's worth a buy for the price. If you're a fan of High West
flavor profiles, I don't necessarily see myself picking up a second bottle of it. Maybe next
year's release though, for sure. I'd be curious to see how this evolves over time. So this is one
I would say to grab one, see how you like it. And if you absolutely love it, go out, buy more. But
if you're like me and you feel like it's delicious, it's great, but not something for you every day,
(18:51):
maybe wait until each year's release. Scoring this one, I mean, this is really nice and unique.
I think I'll have to give this one a 8 out of 10 for my score. I've been trying to do scores more
often now, especially when I'm doing the written reviews of these on Reddit, which I've started
posting more recently now. Sometimes it's an easy way to kind of quickly gauge if something is worth
buying. For me, this is an 8 out of 10 because it's so unique. It's something I've never had before.
(19:14):
It's not that crazy of a price. It's not that hard to find. At least it wasn't in my area.
Even though that can be seen as a really high rating, I think it's, you know, on par with what
I expect some limited edition bourbons to be. I want them to be unique. I want them to be something
I've never experienced before or at least have some qualities that I associate with being,
you know, either well aged, well blended or just a damn good whiskey. And this checks a lot of those
(19:39):
boxes. So, yeah, that's my thoughts on High West's Bourye for 2025. I like it. I'm surprised by it.
I am bewildered, should I say, but definitely going to keep an eye out for these in the future.
I'm curious to see how it compares to other batches. All right. Well, thank you guys so much again for
listening. As always, feel free to leave me your comments and thoughts of the podcast. You can email
(20:01):
me, contact@bourbonbytes.com. Send me a message on social media @BourbonBytes or give me a call
at 916-64-BYTES. That's 916-642-9837. Leave me a voicemail with your questions or suggestions or
comments and I will feature them on next week's show if you want me to. Or if you want to keep it
(20:22):
private, just let me know and I'll keep it between us. I'll talk to you guys next week. This has been
the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers. And I'll talk to you guys
next episode. Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.