ORPHAN BARREL FORAGER'S KEEP 26 YEAR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH 750ML

Forager's Keep is the 14th release from Diageo's highly sought-after Orphan Barrel project, and their first single malt Scotch. The Orphan Barrel project aims to curate, bottle, and release limited releases of rare, unique, or sought-after whiskies that even seasoned whiskey sleuths may never find, including their legendary Rhetoric bourbons.

Distilled at the short-lived Pittyvaich distillery ("Farmstead at the birch wood" in Gaelic), this whiskey spent more time in barrel than the distillery spent in operation. Pittyvaich opened their doors in 1975, but due to industry restructuring, closed their doors in 1993, their mere 18 years of operation yielding some truly excellent whiskies.

Nose: Hay, orchard fruit, vanilla, and florals

Body: More vanilla, citrus peel, ginger snaps, stonefruit

Finish: Long and warming. Oak, cinnamon, vanilla, toasted walnuts.

Bottled at a warm but not overbearing 96 proof, Forager's Keep offers a rich but mellow dram. The Pittyvaich Distillery may have occupied a very short chapter in the history book of the Scotch industry, but the impact of its whiskies will last until the last stocks dry up. Significant both for its rarity relative to the tenure of its makers, as well as being the first entry in a number of delectable and desirable single malt Scotch releases from this superlative whiskey négociant.