Jones & Mack Bourbon: A Louisville Family's Tribute Poured Into a Bottle
There is a particular kind of bourbon that arrives not merely as a product but as an argument — a case made in wood and grain and time for the idea that some stories deserve a permanent address. Louisville-based 2 Cents Inc. released its newest expression, Jones & Mack Bourbon, in mid-August 2026, and from the moment the label is read, it's clear this whiskey belongs to that rarer category. It is not built around a flavor trend or a marketing hook. It is built around four people who never set foot in a distillery.
The bourbon world has seen its share of legacy brands, heritage narratives, and ancestry-driven labels — from the century-old names stamped on warehouse doors in Bardstown to the more recently coined tributes bottled in limited runs. But Jones & Mack occupies a specific and genuinely personal lane: a 100-proof bourbon created in honor of the founders' grandparents, whose lives were defined by service, sacrifice, and family — Wallace and Naomi Jones, and Sylvester and Gertrude Mack. Their names are now on the label. Their legacies are now the reason someone pours a glass.
The Company Behind the Bottle
Built From Louisville, Launched in a Pandemic
Understanding Jones & Mack requires understanding who made it and why. Founded in Louisville, Kentucky, by Brittany and James Penny, 2 Cents Inc. is a spirits company creating premium bourbon and spirits rooted in bold flavor, authentic storytelling, and connection. That origin story, however, comes with a degree of difficulty that most brand histories gloss over. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and becoming a new mother, Brittany, alongside her husband James Penny, audaciously launched 2 Cents Inc in September 2020, driven by a resolute determination to share their love for bourbon with the world.
The company's name is itself an inside joke turned brand identity. "Our family name is Penny, and since it's just me and my husband within the company, the name came easily: Penny & Penny, 2 Cents Inc." It's the kind of detail that immediately humanizes a brand in an industry saturated with invented mythology. There's no Colonel, no legendary frontier distiller, no century-old recipe dug up from a courthouse vault. There's just a husband and wife in Louisville who love bourbon and decided to do something about it.
Brittany Penny's entry into the business came by an unusual route. The business conception all started when Penny was pregnant with her first child in 2020, when she would catch the aromas of her husband's bourbon collection and pick up different notes of apricot, vanilla, caramel, and many other flavor profiles — unknowingly doing the research necessary to start her own bourbon brand. With a keen understanding of the power of digital marketing and social media, she leveraged her MBA in digital marketing to carve a unique path for her company within the industry.
A Portfolio With Credentials Already in Hand
Before Jones & Mack, 2 Cents Inc. was already punching above its weight class. The company is woman-led with a portfolio that includes two award-winning products, The IX Bourbon and Audacitea, as well as their latest release, Jones & Mack Bourbon. The IX Bourbon, the brand's flagship expression, established the Pennys as something more than enthusiastic newcomers. The IX Bourbon Whiskey is a very small batch carefully selected from nine barrels, all possessing unique characteristics that are blended to perfection, with the Charter Line presenting a sweet flavor of buttery caramel, undertones of chocolate, and a hint of spice — bottled at 95 proof.
That first product cracked open doors that rarely swing easily for independent spirits companies built without generational capital. Early distribution was tightly regional — found at Westport Whiskey & Wine as well as the Kentucky Derby Museum Gift Shop — but the intent was always bigger. The desired goal of the company is to win over Kentucky and then branch out and distribute nationwide within the next few years. Jones & Mack, arriving in 2026, looks very much like the next step in that trajectory.
The Story the Label Tells
Wallace and Naomi Jones
The naming of Jones & Mack is not a branding exercise. It is a debt being acknowledged — four grandparents who shaped two families and, by extension, shaped the people who now put bourbon on the market in their memory. Wallace Jones served in the U.S. Army during World War II, a biographical fact that adds real weight to every bottle carrying his name. Military service of that era carried a particular cost and dignity that Americans across generations have long understood, and placing a veteran's name on a bourbon meant to be shared is a fitting tribute to a man who served something larger than himself.
The full quartet — Wallace and Naomi Jones, Sylvester and Gertrude Mack — represent the kind of foundational American story that bourbon has always been associated with but rarely actually told in a first-person, verifiable way. These are not invented ancestors or romantic characters borrowed from history. They are the specific grandparents of specific people, and that specificity matters enormously when the bourbon world is awash in vague heritage claims.
What the Founders Say About It
The language the Pennys have used to describe Jones & Mack reveals how seriously they take the responsibility of the name. "We wanted to create something that felt worthy of their names — not simply a bourbon, but a lasting tribute to the lives they lived, the people they became, and the seeds they planted." That is not the language of a marketing department. It's the language of children and grandchildren who understand they are participating in a longer story than any single product launch.
More than a bourbon, Jones & Mack celebrates where we come from, the stories we inherit, and the legacy we leave behind. In an industry that sometimes confuses heritage with age statements, that distinction — between where you come from and how long a barrel sat in a rickhouse — is worth pausing on. Jones & Mack isn't selling you time. It's selling you lineage.
The Whiskey Itself
Proof, Profile, and What's in the Glass
For all the emotional weight behind the label, the contents of the bottle still have to earn their place. Bottled at 100 proof, Jones & Mack is a bold yet refined Kentucky bourbon with notes of dark cherry, orange peel, and clove, followed by a lingering cinnamon spice finish. That flavor profile suggests a whiskey with genuine complexity rather than the one-dimensional sweetness that plagues many entry-level bourbons. The combination of dark fruit, citrus, and warming spice creates a layered tasting experience where each element has room to breathe.
Dark cherry anchors the nose and palate with a richness that tends to come from well-managed barrel interaction — charred American oak pulling fruit-forward notes from a corn-heavy mash bill. Orange peel adds a brightness that lifts the denser fruit without fighting it. Clove introduces the first real spice note, setting up the cinnamon finish, which lands with exactly the kind of warmth a 100-proof bourbon should deliver without tipping into harshness. It's a profile that rewards both neat sipping and a single large cube of ice.
Best enjoyed over ice, Jones & Mack also brings depth and character to any cocktail. At 100 proof, it has the structural backbone to hold its own in spirit-forward builds — an Old Fashioned where the whiskey remains legible through the sugar and bitters, or a Manhattan where the clove and cinnamon notes pair naturally with sweet vermouth. This is not a cocktail mixer diluted in a premium package; it is a legitimate sipper that also functions well when mixed.
The Significance of 100 Proof
The choice to bottle Jones & Mack at 100 proof deserves more than a passing mention. In an era when many craft bourbon releases chase maximum barrel strength — sometimes north of 130 proof — a 100-proof bottling represents a deliberate and thoughtful middle ground. It delivers genuine intensity and full-palate coverage without the anesthetic effect that extreme barrel proof can introduce. It is, historically, the proof at which American whiskey was long regulated under bottled-in-bond standards, and it remains the sweet spot for bourbons that aim to be both characterful and genuinely drinkable.
For the Pennys, 100 proof also signals seriousness without intimidation. Their IX Bourbon comes in at 95 proof — capable, but slightly softer. Jones & Mack steps that up by five proof points, delivering a whiskey with a bit more authority while remaining in a range where the flavor profile can shine without requiring the drinker to add water just to taste it.
Pricing, Presale, and How to Get It
An Accessible Price for What It Is
The question of value is one every bourbon drinker runs through, consciously or not, when a new bottle enters consideration. Priced at $54.99 per bottle, customers who order during the presale period will receive an automatic $5 discount at checkout, bringing the presale price to $49.99. At under fifty dollars during presale, Jones & Mack positions itself in a crowded but important bracket — above the budget shelf, below the allocated-bourbon tier that requires lottery entries and store relationships, and right in the zone where a serious bourbon drinker makes regular purchase decisions without much deliberation.
For a 100-proof Kentucky bourbon with this kind of flavor profile from an independent, woman-led Louisville company, $54.99 is a fair ask at full retail. The presale discount makes it an easy yes for anyone inclined toward supporting independent spirits producers doing something with genuine purpose behind it. At $49.99, it competes directly with the mid-tier offerings from far larger houses — and it arrives with a story none of them can match.
When and Where It Ships
Bottles will be shipped directly to customers' doorsteps beginning in September 2026. Jones & Mack is now available for presale through the 2 Cents Inc website. Direct-to-consumer shipping remains one of the more effective tools available to independent producers who haven't yet built out full retail distribution networks, and for 2 Cents Inc., which began with localized Kentucky distribution, it represents an important expansion of reach — allowing customers across the country to access a bottle that might not yet appear on their local shop's shelves.
The Broader Picture: Independent Bourbon in 2026
Where Craft Fits in the Current Market
Jones & Mack is arriving at a moment of genuine ferment in American whiskey. The bourbon boom that drove unprecedented growth through the early 2020s has cooled into what observers have called a market correction — oversupply in some segments, contraction in retail allocations, and more cautious consumer spending. Yet within that correction, independent and craft producers have continued to find enthusiastic audiences. "My Top 100 for 2025 is heavy on craft distillers, such as Frey Ranch and Leipers Fork, and independent blenders, such as Dark Arts and K. Luke," wrote whiskey authority Fred Minnick, noting a discernible tilt toward smaller operations in serious whiskey evaluation.
As Minnick himself put it, "nothing makes me happier than to see the growth of small, craft brands who have no marketing budgets." That sentiment resonates specifically for a company like 2 Cents Inc., which has built its reputation on the authenticity of its storytelling and the quality of its liquid rather than on national advertising or celebrity endorsement. In a landscape where major brands spend millions to manufacture the perception of authenticity, a bourbon that is genuinely named for four real grandparents is a different thing entirely.
A Historical Parallel Worth Drawing
The practice of naming a bourbon for family ancestors is as old as the category itself. Old Grand-Dad was created by Raymond B. Hayden and named after his grandfather Basil Hayden Sr., who was a well known distiller during his lifetime. That brand has endured for well over a century, precisely because the ancestor at its center was real and the story around him was specific. The brands that survive the longest in American whiskey are almost always the ones with genuine people — not invented mascots — anchoring their identity.
Jones & Mack doesn't need to be Old Grand-Dad to succeed. It needs to be exactly what it is: a 100-proof Louisville bourbon with a verifiable human story, made by people who have already demonstrated they know how to build a product worth drinking. That is a credible foundation for a long shelf life.
Diversity and Ownership in American Bourbon
It would be incomplete to discuss Jones & Mack without acknowledging where 2 Cents Inc. sits within the industry's evolving conversation about ownership and representation. Brittany Penny is an innovative entrepreneur, passionate bourbon enthusiast, and the Founder & CEO of 2 Cents Inc. — born and raised in the heart of bourbon country, Louisville, KY, with a deep appreciation for the rich heritage and craftsmanship of bourbon. A Black, woman-led spirits company operating in Louisville — where bourbon has been made for generations by a remarkably homogenous ownership class — carries significance beyond the bottle.
The Pennys are not making bourbon as outsiders looking to disrupt the culture. Brittany grew up inside it, surrounded by its geography and its gravity. As the Founder & CEO of 2 Cents Inc., Brittany Penny has proven herself to be an astute leader and visionary, guiding her company with passion, ingenuity, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Jones & Mack, named for four grandparents whose lives likely unfolded in a very different America than the one now pouring their namesake bourbon, adds another layer to what this release is really about.
What Jones & Mack Means Going Forward
A Third Product That Signals Maturity
Jones & Mack is the third offering in the 2 Cents Inc. portfolio, following The IX Bourbon and Audacitea. Three products in six years of operation — each one representing a different flavor direction and a different story — suggests a company that is expanding thoughtfully rather than flooding the market to chase revenue. The IX Bourbon established the brand as a capable bourbon producer. Audacitea diversified the portfolio into a different format entirely. Jones & Mack consolidates the company's identity around its most powerful asset: the Penny family's own story.
Earlier, Brittany Penny outlined her long-term ambitions with characteristic directness. In the next five years, 2 Cents Inc. will have Phase 1 complete of the 2 Cents Inc. distillery, operated by an innovative, diverse workforce, and by that time should have three new products to market. A company that has already built its first distillery phase while managing a multi-product portfolio and now bringing a tribute bourbon named for four specific grandparents to market is a company operating with both ambition and clarity of purpose.
A Bourbon for People Who Value What's Behind the Label
Jones & Mack is a bourbon for remembering where you come from and raising a glass to where you're going. That line could easily read as promotional copy — and technically, it is — but it also happens to be a functionally accurate description of what's in the bottle and what's behind it. This is a whiskey made by a young Louisville company that started during a pandemic, run by two people named after small change who are making something with real weight, in honor of four grandparents whose names deserve to outlast the people who remember them.
Wallace Jones served his country in World War II. Naomi Jones, Sylvester Mack, and Gertrude Mack built families and left behind children who left behind children who now put bourbon in a bottle and put those names on it. There are worse legacies a bottle of whiskey could carry. In fact, most bottles carry no legacy at all.
Jones & Mack Bourbon, at $49.99 through presale and shipping in September 2026, is worth picking up for what it is in the glass: a bold, fruit-and-spice-forward 100-proof Kentucky bourbon that delivers on its proof and then some. It's worth picking up for what it is on the label: a tribute done right, with real names and a real story. And it's worth following for what it signals about 2 Cents Inc. — a Louisville company that started with nothing but a love of bourbon, a family name, and a good idea, and is now releasing whiskeys that carry the weight of history in every bottle.
