New Orphan Barrel Fable & Folly Blends Previous Aged Whiskey Releases

The Orphan Barrel series from Diageo, over the years, has released some rather old American whiskeys to market. With stock of some of these former releases still sitting around, it has been decided by the powers that be behind this brand to blend several of them into a new release.

The new Orphan Barrel Fable & Folly is described as a proprietary blend that includes the last remaining stocks of Barterhouse, Forged Oak and various Rhetoric releases alongside aged rye and corn whiskeys. It was crafted by Master Blender Andrew Mackay into something that’s said to pay “homage to the original releases yet possesses a distinct profile of its own.”

“Fable & Folly honors the quality ingredients that go into it and the ethos of the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co. as a whole,” said Mackay in a prepared statement. “In my discoveries of the six orphaned stocks that are part of Fable & Folly, it became clear that blending them would both highlight and enhance the nuances that make these liquids so special. Fable & Folly tells the stories of whiskeys past while exciting aficionados and collectors with a unique new spirit that stands the test of time.”

Though the specific mix of these previous offerings was not mentioned, it is known this American whiskey has a 14 year old age statement. Official tasting notes make mention of “spicy notes of rye and pepper. It begins with a burst of spice and delicately warms to a smooth richness with sweet notes of syrup and fruit.”

Orphan Barrel Fable & Folly, priced around $150 per 750 ml bottle and presented at a bottling strength of 45% ABV, is is available in limited quantities at select spirits retailers nationwide. The title of this expression and the “spirit animal” displayed on the label, by the way, “pays homage to this proprietary blend – a hybrid of the three signature animals of the whiskeys from which Fable & Folly came: a stag, a hummingbird and a fox.”