Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Rhetoric 25-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskey is On Its Way

Sam Slaughter
By

Have a whiskey lover in your life? Or perhaps you the whiskey lover? Well, you might want to use some persuasive speaking and writing to get your loved ones to search out a bottle of this whiskey during the coming holiday season.

Annually for the past five years, the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company has released a super-aged bourbon released under the name Rhetoric. Starting with Rhetoric 20, the distillery has held a small number of barrels every year since, releasing progressively older expressions. This year, Orphan Barrel is once again releasing a whiskey — aged 25 years this time — but it’s also announced that this will be the last Rhetoric release.

See why we said persuasive speaking and writing now? That’s an English joke for you. Is freshman year English class coming back to haunt you yet?

Related
Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company Rhetoric 25
Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company

As with the previous editions, Rhetoric 25’s whiskey was found in the old Stitzel-Weller Warehouses in Louisville, Ky. The whiskey was distilled (between 1990- 1993) at the Bernheim Distillery (which was historically located at 17th and Breckenridge in Louisville) from a mash of 86 percent corn, 8 percent barley, and 6 percent rye. The whiskey used was then hand-bottled in Tullahoma, Tennessee (most likely at the George Dickel Distillery, as both are owned by Diageo).

On the nose, Rhetoric displays oak, with vanilla, dried fruit, cherries, and some spice coming to the forefront as well. The palate is also oak-forward, with baking spices, caramel, some muted sweet corn, and dark chocolate coming through. The finish warms all the way down. At 45.5 percent alcohol by volume, it is the strongest of the Rhetoric releases (each has gone up .1 percent in alcohol, starting with Rhetoric 20, which was 45 percent ABV). Just as the proof has gone up year after year, the color of wood texture in the label has gotten dark, representing the whiskey itself getting darker in color with every subsequent year.

Rhetoric 25 will be sold nationwide but in extremely limited quantities. If you manage to find it, the whiskey will retail for around $140. If you can’t get a hold of any Rhetoric 25, you might still be able to find one of Orphan Barrel’s other releases, such as Forged Oak, Lost Prophet, Barterhouse, or The Gifted Horse.

Then, if you can’t find any of those, why not try picking up a bottle of something like Fistful of Whiskey?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Bubbly? Full-bodied and red? Zesty and white? Your favorite wine types, explained
All the primary types of wine (and everything you need to know about them)
Glasses of different kinds of wine

Trying to understand everything about wine all at once is an impossible endeavor. Wine is a beautifully complicated, ever-changing quiddity, and even the most decorated and prestigious wine experts in the world often find themselves confounded by its constant little surprises.
That isn't to say that, if you care to, you shouldn't become educated on the subject of wine. It's a hobby and a passion that's tremendously fun to pursue, and there's much to learn on the matter.
If you find yourself in the beginning stages of your wine education, just as in everything, you'll want to start with the basics. It's possible that up until now, you haven't put much thought into the several different kinds of wine there are, except for, say, red and white. But while there are obviously exceptions within every hard and fast rule, for the most part, wine can be broken down into roughly nine categories. Here we'll take a minute to break those categories down, explain what they mean, which wines fall into them, and, our favorite - how to drink those wines.

Sparkling wine

Read more
This NYC restaurant’s $518, 19-course tasting menu of Chinese cuisine is amazing
Chef Guo in New York is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a feast for the senses and the palate
Chef Guo food.

Butterfly Falls in Love with the Flower.

Step inside the restaurant Chef Guo, and the first thing you'll be greeted with is a majestic model of a ginko tree, the national tree of China, complete with brightly colored golden leaves. The tree cascades over the dining room, a space filled with Chinese calligraphy on the walls and regal Indonesian Zi Tan rosewood chairs. Soft and pleasant Chinese instrumental music plays in the background, an oasis in an otherwise hectic Midtown Manhattan.

Read more
How to reheat tamales: Learn the secret to every method
Enjoy tamales just as much the second time around
Our Place tamales.

Tamales are one of the tastiest and most popular dishes for a night out on the town, complete with a few frosty margaritas. A traditional Mesoamerican dish, tamales are stuffed with meats or beans and cheese and wrapped in a banana leaf or a corn husk. Steamed and served with pico de gallo and rice, they make for a delightful dish that's easy to make and packed with flavor and spice.

Tamales are easy to prepare and a great option to make ahead of time and reheat for a quick meal on the go. Whether homemade or store-bought, there are a few tips you'll want to know when reheating them so that you can savor all the goodness these little flavor pouches have to offer. Whether you want to use a steamer, microwave, stove, oven, or air fryer, here are the best ways to make sure you get the perfect hot tamale.

Read more