Orphan Barrel "The Gifted Horse" American Whiskey

So, someone screwed up! Or did they? Never look a gifted horse in the glass. This is Diageo's first foray into the burgeoning "accident whiskey" category. After Wild Turkey's Forgiven, an unusual blend of straight rye and bourbon, the Gifted Horse is an even more shocking blend of young and old. First a 4 year old corn whiskey and an Indian distilled bourbon were blended, presumably for one of Diageo's standard blended whiskies like Seagram's Seven Crown. Then someone dumped in a good deal of 17 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, close to 40%! Perhaps someone forgot to spit in that morning's quality control meeting, but either way we're not complaining. The depth and power of the 17 year old bourbon has been softened and stretched by the young whiskies, but is by no means diminished completely. The result is a kind of wacky thing that won't likely be reproduced again, but at this price there's no doubt that this little "experiment" will be considered a success by those who manage to get their hands on it.