Orphan Barrel Old Blowhard 26 Year Old
The Orphan Barrel brand was devised by Diageo in 2013. The company's previous iteration, United Distillers had been very active in the American whiskey market in the 1980s, however when they became Diageo in 1997, the focus of the company shifted elsewhere. The result was the offloading in 1999 of what are now several prize assets, including the Bernheim distillery to Heaven Hill along with the Old Fitzgerald brand, and the Weller brand to the Sazerac Company. Further to this, believing bourbon to be passed its best beyond the age of 12 years, it offloaded huge quantities of stock from the legendary Stitzel-Weller distillery, much of which was bottled by what are now hugely sought after independent labels like Very Olde St Nick, Jefferson's Reserve and Pappy Van Winkle. Having given up what is now a veritable who's who of collectible bourbon, it is hardly surprising that the company were keen to reinvest in the booming American whiskey industry of the 2000s. The Orphan Barrel series was intended to tap into that same collectors market, making use of the stock retained from their former (and occasionally current) distillery portfolio across the US and Canada, which in the late 1980s and early 1990s had consolidated the empires of two of the biggest post-Prohibition distillers in Schenley and Seagram.
Old Blowhard contains bourbon produced at Bernheim distillery. When it was sold to Heaven Hill, the barrels were moved to the Stitzel-Weller warehouses and aged for 26 years.
Like all Orphan Barrel releases, this was bottled at Cascade Hollow distillery in Tennessee.
We would recommend viewing/close inspection prior to placing any bids. If this is not an option and you have questions beyond the offered description and images, please contact us for a more in-depth condition report. Otherwise lots will be sold as seen in the images.
Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.