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Bourbon

Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Tennessee Bourbon

$100.00

OVERALL
RATING

8

Whiskey Review: Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Tennessee Bourbon

Tasting Notes:

About:
89.8 proof, made from an undisclosed mash bill and aged 16 years. Find a 750mL bottle in select markets for $100.
Appearance:
This liquid is a very clear, medium amber that beads and forms thick tears.
Nose:
On the nose, it’s brown-sugar sweet mingled with forest floor, a whisper of stamp glue weaving through and the presence of a dusty dirt road. After resting in the glass smoked meat was there, too.
Palate:
Super dry on the attack, this whiskey is spicy and a touch saline. It’s clean like fresh linens and has a cigar box note riding out to a medium, lightly tannic finish.
Finish:
Comments:
I really like this whiskey, how it manages austerity and richness at the same time. It’s dry without being painful, spicy without being hot. Balanced. It’ll stand out among your collection of 15-year-plus whiskeys and be something fun to taste friends on.rn

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by Diageo. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.

Diageo’s Orphan Barrel series has been making whiskey headlines since 2014, with the twin release of Old Barterhouse and Old Blowhard. Every Orphan Barrel bottle holds old whiskey; many releases are in their 20s. Most have been American stock and were at least partially aged at the Stitzel-Weller warehouses, legendary due to their connection with Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle.

It’s a series of princess whiskeys, but it’s also a company called “Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company,” which, of course, doesn’t do distilling so much as finding. And really, they don’t do finding so much as blending. I was a little disappointed to discover that beyond not being just one barrel, there could be any number of barrels in the batch. Sigh. Such naïveté.

I understand very old whiskey is a bit of roulette – some of it so tannic as to be undrinkable, some of it tasty and exceptionally smooth. I’m also familiar with economics and realize when the angels have had a very great share, Diageo needs to make it worth their effort. I still can’t help thinking the name is a bit misleading. (I am not the first nor most notorious whiskey writer to be upset by this.) Diageo has a least been a bit more forthcoming about the origin stories of these whiskeys in recent years.

Digression aside, this particular edition was produced at Cascade Hollow Distilling (neé George Dickel Distillery). It’s the first cask-strength offering, and the first Orphan Barrel to be orchestrated by Nicole Austin.

Austin started her professional life as an environmental engineer. That path was diverted when she had a fateful conversation about how whiskey was made with a bartender while she waited for a date.

Initially fascinated with the process, Austin discovered whiskey making could also connect her with agriculture and creativity. She started working at Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn, then with Dave Pickerell, and finally at Tullamore D.E.W. before becoming the general manager and distiller for Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.

Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue
Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue (image via Diageo)

Tasting Notes: Orphan Barrel Copper Tongue Tennessee Bourbon

Vital Stats: 89.8 proof, made from an undisclosed mash bill and aged 16 years. Find a 750mL bottle in select markets for $100.

Appearance: This liquid is a very clear, medium amber that beads and forms thick tears.

Nose: On the nose, it’s brown-sugar sweet mingled with forest floor, a whisper of stamp glue weaving through and the presence of a dusty dirt road. After resting in the glass smoked meat was there, too.

Palate: Super dry on the attack, this whiskey is spicy and a touch saline. It’s clean like fresh linens and has a cigar box note riding out to a medium, lightly tannic finish.

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