Orphan Barrel Barterhouse Whiskey Review

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Disclaimer: The introduction for this review has been heavily revised to correct all historical misinformation from when I originally wrote it. I hope you find it much more accurate and cohesive. I have also updated my tasting notes and rating from this review but decided to leave this one in place to show readers how tastes and preferences can change over the years.

Diageo was conceived from a merger between Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. Before the merger, the Guinness company owned United Distillers which was primarily based out of Kentucky. Shortly after the merger was complete, Diageo began selling large portions of their distilleries in an effort to consolidate.

The first step was to sell the Bernheim Distillery (complete with 7 brick aging warehouses) to Heaven Hill. Their contract stated that Heaven Hill would continue to produce bourbon for their IW Harper line. After the sale, large amounts of barrels were moved 3.5 miles down the road to the former Stitzel-Weller distillery for storage. Stitzel-Weller hadn’t been used for distillation since 1994, but the warehouses had lots of extra space for barrels. The barrels that Diageo moved from Bernheim were more than likely intended for use in IW Harper products.

Most of the barrels would continue to set and age at Stitzel-Weller due to a lack of demand. It was the late 90’s/early 00’s and whiskey hadn’t exploded yet. These excess barrels couldn’t be used in other Diageo products like Bulleit because they had such low rye content. Diageo probably also determined that they were too valuable to dump into the cheap blended whiskey brands that they owned. They also didn’t meet the specs of a Tennessee Whiskey which meant that using them in George Dickel products was out of the question. It wasn’t until 2013 when product planners had the bright idea to create a new brand for them. Orphan Barrel was born.

The Story of Orphan Barrel

The original story for Orphan Barrel that Diageo tried to pass off was that these barrels were “hidden away” and “long forgotten.” Savvy enthusiasts knew that story didn’t make sense due to alcohol tax regulations that declare all barrels must have a tax collected on them each year. In reality, Diageo/Orphan Barrel knew exactly where these barrels were and had been waiting for the right moment to bottle them up. Orphan Barrel was the perfect way to do that.

Barterhouse was such a success in 2014, that a second batch was created later that same year. Each batch consisted of around 45,000 bottles. Barterhouse uses 20-year-old barrels made from a mash bill that contains 86% corn, 6% rye and 8% malted barley. This is the same recipe you’ll find in many other Orphan Barrel products like Forged Oak, Rhetoric, The Gifted Horse and Fable & Folly. It’s also the same bourbon used in IW Harper 15 Year Bourbon.

So how does it taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Over the course of two sessions with this, I have concluded that there is a peculiar scent that I don’t think I have noticed in any other bourbon out there.  I can only describe it as a mixture of wood varnish and pressure treated lumber.  Whatever it is, it’s borderline chemical-like.  The nose settles down after a few sips and I get the sweetness of maple syrup, cherry cordials and more vanilla than I would’ve expected.  

Palate: There is no getting around the mouthful of oak chips I have just put in my mouth.  There are notes of cherry juice, like it has been infused with the oak, but it’s not as complimentary as I’m making it sound.  The tannins are out of control on this, with old, dry leather and stale cigarette tobacco. I also find a very muted orange peel note, but overall, this is just a thin oak juice with little to no complexity or richness.

Finish: The finish sees no improvement over the palate with it being very short and thin as well.  The drying oak is so prominent, that I swear I’m tasting some ash here and there.  It’s like sucking on a cherry popsicle stick for the last 10 minutes, thinking you’re going to get more flavor out of it.  Apple skins, dry tobacco and orange oil are other notes I detect, but seem to be just hanging around and not adding any sort of depth.

Score: 4.5/10

I have never experienced an over-oaked bourbon to the degree that this one showed me.  And while I am attempting to tone it down when it comes down to my general dissatisfaction with this bottle, I am reminded by a small burp I had halfway through the dram that made the inside of my mouth taste like I liked an ashtray. 

Final Thoughts

There are many reviews out there that claim to have liked Barterhouse for what it is.  The age statement is an allure that I think blinds many people to the fact that the juice inside is subpar at best.  

But with the secondary market spiraling out of control lately with sky-high prices, I would like to give the potential buyers of this bottle a warning: don’t fall for the age statement and fun packaging.  The price of this bottle will easily net you much better bourbon for your money elsewhere.