Diageo’s latest Orphan Barrel Whiskey is a curious blend — a marriage of  “the last remaining stocks of Barterhouse, Forged Oak, and various Rhetoric releases with a proprietary blend.” Bourbon and rye, a minimum of 14 years old, all mixed together into a wild infinity barrel. Like most of the Orphan Barrel releases to date, this one is bottled with its proof kept in check at just 45% abv.

With all the heavy hitters in this blend, one might expect the resulting whiskey to be a knockout. Knock me down, though, it’s about as soft and easygoing as they come. There’s lots of baking spice on the nose, all well-integrated with a substantial oakiness and just a pinch of pepper. On the palate, baked apples are exuberant and immediate, a deep dive into fruit that segues into grapefruit and lemon peel, and from there into a sweet milk chocolate character. Candied nuts — well-cinnamoned — emerge on a soft but lengthy finish, which reprises a slug of oak before returning, once again, to a baked apple note.

Fable & Folly feels fairly straightforward and incredibly light considering its age, but it won me over with time, that fruity, apple pie quality, complete with a vanilla-scented crumble, really sucked me in, begging for repeated sampling. As a bonus, the price is actually reasonable — and almost achievable on the market.

90 proof.

A- / $150 / orphanbarrel.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]

Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Fable & Folly Whiskey 14 Years Old

$150

9

Rating

9.0/10

BUY IT NOW

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