An out of this world marriage of Bourbon, Orange Curaçao and Gin.
It was in 2018 when Bill Straub and Bob D'Antoni, both Whiskey enthusiasts, founded the Four Gate Whiskey Company in Kentucky and launched their mission to release très petits batches of unique combinations of Whiskey and finish barrels. And boy did they mean it when they said unique. Partnering with Kelvin Cooperage, a family-owned barrel supplier founded in 1963 in Scotland and currently based in Louisville, the combinations of quality Whiskey blends and used barrels they put together are so exotic it almost seems like you didn't read it right. We guess it's like those funny-looking couples you'd never put together, but they just work.
Just like their second release Outer Loop Orbit. Would you, after looking at (and smelling) casks together with William Hornaday at the Cooperage, have picked what were originally Orange Curaçao barrels that a local distiller used to finish a batch of botanical Gin? Probably not. Luckily, at Four Gate Whiskey, they saw Curaçao's sticky sweetness and Gin's sharpness and immediately thought: yeah, this gives us strong John Glenn-tangy-80s vibes and definitely calls for a Bourbon. A blend of 5.5YO Kentucky Straight Bourbon and a 12YO High-Rye Kentucky Straight Bourbon was put to rest for a month and the result was mind-blowing. Bottled at 120.3 proof, non-chill filtered and with only 2,402 bottles released, this Bourbon is sure to take you on a trip to space.
Smartass Corner:
The name Outer Loop Orbit is dedicated to the Outer Loop street in Louisville where Kelvin Cooperage is located and to John Glenn who was the first American to orbit the Earth.