Diageo Unveils Orphan Barrel Whiskey

By Richard Thomas

Drinks giant Diageo officially launched its much-rumored Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company yesterday, releasing two very aged, super premium bourbon whiskeys. “Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company” is not actually a distillery in and of itself. Instead, it represents a vehicle for moving stock found at the old Stitzel-Weller warehouses in Louisville.

Barterhouse Whiskey is a 20 year old bourbon (SRP: $75), and according to Diageo has a “mellow taste includes notes of roasted grain, charred oak and a brown sugar finish.” The older of this old pair is the appropriately named, 26 year old Old Blowhard. Going for twice the price (SRP: $150), Old Blowhard is claimed to have “exuberant, rich flavors with undertones of smoke and honey followed by a gentle finish – dry and spicy with a hint of orange peel.”

Diageo shipped the whiskey from Louisville down to Tullahoma, Tennessee, where the Orphan Barrel label is headquartered, for hand-bottling. Since Diageo also owns George Dickel of Tullahoma, its a good guess they used Dickel’s facility to do the filling and stoppering.