The Story
23 years. Rhetoric. Orphan Barrel — the 23-year annual release in Diageo's Orphan Barrel Rhetoric series, the program that adds one additional year of age to each successive release to document the progression of the same Bernheim distillery stock as it matures.
The Rhetoric concept is unique: the same distillate appears annually at sequentially increasing age statements — 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 years — allowing collectors to track how the same bourbon changes as it continues aging. The current Wooden Cork Orphan Barrel collection includes Rhetoric at 20, 21, 23, and 24 years, documenting four of the six available annual increments simultaneously.
At 23 years, the Bernheim distillate has developed the deep leather, dried fruit, and worn oak complexity that extended Kentucky maturation produces, above the 21-year (less wood integration) but below the 24-year (more concentrated maturity).
Specs
- Distillery: Bernheim, Louisville, Kentucky (Diageo)
- Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Age: 23 years
- Series: Orphan Barrel Rhetoric — annual evolving
- Size: 750ml
Browse all Orphan Barrel at Wooden Cork.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Rhetoric concept? The same Bernheim distillate released annually at sequentially increasing age statements — each year one year older. The program documents how a specific bourbon changes through extended maturation by presenting the same stock at multiple age points.
- Which Rhetoric ages are currently in stock at Wooden Cork? Rhetoric 20, 21, 23, and 24 year expressions are currently in stock, documenting four incremental steps in the same distillate's aging progression.
Description
23 years. Rhetoric. Orphan Barrel — the 23-year annual release in Diageo's Orphan Barrel Rhetoric series, the program that adds one additional year of age to each successive release to document the progression of the same Bernheim distillery stock as it matures.
The Rhetoric concept is unique: the same distillate appears annually at sequentially increasing age statements — 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 years — allowing collectors to track how the same bourbon changes as it continues aging. The current Wooden Cork Orphan Barrel collection includes Rhetoric at 20, 21, 23, and 24 years, documenting four of the six available annual increments simultaneously.
At 23 years, the Bernheim distillate has developed the deep leather, dried fruit, and worn oak complexity that extended Kentucky maturation produces, above the 21-year (less wood integration) but below the 24-year (more concentrated maturity).
Specs
- Distillery: Bernheim, Louisville, Kentucky (Diageo)
- Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Age: 23 years
- Series: Orphan Barrel Rhetoric — annual evolving
- Size: 750ml
Browse all Orphan Barrel at Wooden Cork.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Rhetoric concept? The same Bernheim distillate released annually at sequentially increasing age statements — each year one year older. The program documents how a specific bourbon changes through extended maturation by presenting the same stock at multiple age points.
- Which Rhetoric ages are currently in stock at Wooden Cork? Rhetoric 20, 21, 23, and 24 year expressions are currently in stock, documenting four incremental steps in the same distillate's aging progression.
