French Oak Bourbon Face-Off: Penelope Omega vs Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Cask Strength
Two French oak finished bourbons go head to head in this episode of Bourbon Brass and Beyond, with a focus on how finishing, mash bill, age, and proof shape the final pour. Dan and Bob compare Penelope Omega 11 Year and Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Cask Strength, then dig into Maker's history, tours, and a few personal stories along the way.
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Key topics
In this episode: Dan and Bob compare Penelope Omega 11 Year and Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Cask Strength side by side.
Penelope Omega is introduced as an 11 year bourbon finished 3 to 4 years in French oak, bottled at 109.8 proof.
Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Cask Strength is bottled at 112 proof and is discussed as a toasted French oak stave finish.
They break down Penelope's mash bill as 79% corn, 10% rye, 1% barley, and note that it reads as corn-forward with a toasted nose.
The Penelope shows notes of caramel, vanilla, sweet oak, raisin, and dark fruit, with a medium finish and strong mouthfeel.
They compare it to prior Penelope estate releases and suggest the older single barrels may have been softer and more muted than this bottle.
Maker's Mark gets a deeper history segment, including the Samuels family, Bill Samuels Jr., the move from engineering and NASA toward whiskey, and the brand's long-standing wheated style.
Dan and Bob discuss how Maker's finishes its whiskey after the core liquid is aged, including stave seasoning and stave finishing rather than true single-barrel variation.
They note the Maker's nose is sweeter and more pronounced than Penelope's, with classic caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar notes.
The episode closes with a direct preference comparison: Penelope wins on flavor and finish for them, Maker's wins on nose.
Timestamps
00:00 - French oak theme and the two bottles on deck
01:26 - Penelope Omega mash bill and proof breakdown
02:30 - First impression of Penelope's toasted nose
03:28 - Penelope's mouthfeel, finish, and flavor
04:33 - Raisin and dark fruit notes from French oak
05:23 - Comparing Penelope to earlier estate single barrels
06:26 - Penelope estate packaging and proof differences
08:39 - Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Cask Strength intro
09:08 - Bill Samuels Jr. story and Maker's origin
10:38 - Makers' wheated mash bill and Pappy Van Winkle yeast
11:07 - Tasting prep for Maker's French Oaked 46
12:17 - Maker's sweeter nose and caramel vanilla profile
13:48 - Maker's flavor evolution and familiar top-of-tongue note
15:05 - How Maker's uses stave finishing after aging
16:18 - Woodford, Buffalo Trace, and distillery tour comparisons
17:51 - Why this is a cask strength version of the standard whiskey
18:52 - Flavor vs nose: Penelope and Maker's side by side
19:19 - Star Hill Farm, Heart releases, and Cellar Aged talk
20:33 - Kids, permits, and the chaos of teen driving years
22:20 - Looking for Wyatt's first car and a father-son road trip idea
23:19 - Learning to drive young, including a 13-year-old road home
24:38 - Final verdict: Penelope on flavor, Maker's on nose
25:36 - Closing thoughts and future guest tease
26:06 - Subscribe, comment, and where to find the show
Bourbon, Brass & Beyond - https://www.bourbonbrassandbeyond.com