It’s not often that distilleries base a new product launch on a Brittany Spears song but the fine folks at Orphan Barrel have done just that. Oops!… I Did It Again by Brittany Spears was originally released in 2000. That’s just about the time this mostly 17 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey was placed in its American Oak barrel. Coincidence? I’ll let you decide!
Oops! Some time ago at the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Ky., a batch of beautiful 17-year-old Kentucky bourbon was accidentally mixed with barrels of much younger whiskey. This error turned out better than anyone could have expected as the older bourbon wasn’t marred, but was transformed into something surprisingly special. Realizing this unique liquid deserved a home, The Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co. has announced the seventh addition to its stable, The Gifted Horse American Whiskey.
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The Gifted Horse Whiskey is a blend of bourbon and corn whiskey once separated by the Ohio River between Kentucky and Indiana.
The Gifted Horse is comprised of:
- 38.5% 17-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon, distilled at the Bernheim Distillery historically located at 17th and Breckinridge in Louisville, Ky., while operated by United Distillers
- 51% four-year-old bourbon produced at a high-quality distillery in Indiana
- 10.5% four-year-old corn whiskey produced at a high-quality distillery in Indiana
Initially, these individual whiskeys were stored at their original distilleries before being moved to Stitzel-Weller, where the mingling error occurred. (Wonder if they considered calling this Kentuckiana Whiskey?)
“As one of my favorite Orphan Barrel releases to-date, The Gifted Horse is proof that not all great inventions are planned,” said Ewan Morgan, Master of Whiskey for Diageo. “A one-of-a-kind whiskey, The Gifted Horse will be right at home in the Orphan Barrel family as a delicious and complex sipping whiskey we’re excited to share with true aficionados.”
Morgan says this whiskey starts out with a nose hinting at apple skin, almond, toffee, raisins and slight milk chocolate, with unique tasting notes of creamy caramel, Bosc pear and fruit cake. This unusual blend’s fruity notes become more apparent with a splash of water.
The Gifted Horse American Whiskey Package Design
The Gifted Horse’s package design reflects the lucky fortune in discovering such a unique whiskey, featuring a lighthearted illustrative style, a horseshoe and the prominently featured Gifted Horse image. Hinting at what’s inside the bottle, the weathered red label entices those to discover a whiskey bold and flavorful.
The Gifted Horse was hand bottled in Tullahoma, Tenn. and highly allocated, with no future releases planned. The seventh release from Orphan Barrel is 115 proof/57.5% ABV. It is available nationwide at a suggested retail price of $50.
Orphan Barrel – The Gifted Horse American Whiskey (4 Year Old)
The Gifted Horse follows these previous Orphan Barrel releases, all Kentucky bourbons.
Barterhouse (20-Year-Old)
Old Blowhard (26-Year-Old, Retired 2014)
Rhetoric (20-Year-Old and 21-Year-Old)
Lost Prophet (22-Year-Old)
Forged Oak (15-Year-Old)
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