![]() ![]() I can’t think of a reason to prefer this high-malt approach to bourbon over more standard mash bills. The palate might be a little thinner, the finish livelier. With Water: A few drops of water initially mute the aroma, requiring a rest in the glass. Nutty, with a lingering youthful alcohol note (vodka), cola, and faint marshmallow. A dose of cherry (or cherry cough syrup?) precedes a fairly standard lineup of bourbon flavors: oaky resin, furniture polish, brown sugar, and gingerbread.įinish: Short. Corn husks, corn syrup, and a sprinkling of stale spices (powdered cinnamon and clove). Nose: Pale caramel, a thick layer of nougat, and something very vegetal like medicinal herbs and crushed grass. It originally retailed for $50 which sounds a bit high to me – I got my bottle for $30 at Costco, which is much more in line with similar MGP-sourced bourbons, extra barley or not. The bourbon is bottled at an acceptable 44% ABV. They say it makes the whiskey extra smooth. I’ve never seen that much barley used in a bourbon before. As for the mash bill, Old Elk is once again an outlier: A whopping 34% malted barley, 51% corn, and 15% rye. Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon is a blend of sourced straight bourbons, with the youngest aged 5 years. ![]() Yes, that means that Old Elk is blending and bottling sourced whisky that was actually made by their current master distiller. There is a twist: They recently hired Greg Metze, who found fame by creating excellent whiskey at MGP. The website mentions “three partners”, so they may have two other components in the blend that I can’t find any information about. Until that happens, they are blending together different batches of MGP bourbon and selling it under the Old Elk name. Old Elk is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and yes does plan to build a real distillery. I just wish that Non-Distiller Producers would stop indirectly claiming to be distilleries, or obscuring the fact that they didn’t distill the liquid in their bottles. I sound bitter, but this is highly common in the market today, and some quite excellent spirits have emerged as a result of it. There is no distillation happening at Old Elk Distillery because it’s just a “production facility” (read: blending house) that is blending sourced bourbons. Despite the fact that this bottle proudly displays “Old Elk Distillery Co.”, like many bourbons on the market today this was not made at the Old Elk Distillery. ![]()
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