Barrel #283

Age: 7-years

Source: MGPi    

Mash Bill: 51/45/4 Corn/Wheat/Malted Barley

Proof: 122.2 proof

Bottle Count: 144 bottles

Tasting Notes:

• Nose:  If I didn’t know better, I may think this was a light whiskey on the first sniff. Sweet forward with crisp green apple and a sweetness similar to biting into a honeydew melon close to the rind. Bright, fresh, and welcoming with plenty of brown sugar and oak.
• Palate:  The palate is equal parts honey-dipped apples and stone fruit as it is chewy toffee and oak. The mouthfeel here is excellent, and the balance of flavor too. Creamy, coating, lightly spiced but just beautifully sweet caramel and orchard fruit.  This is a crushable yet nuanced wheated bourbon.

Story: In January 2022, the Bourbon Community Roundtable (Breaking Bourbon, Bourbon Pursuit and myself) "BCR" made out way out to Colorado to visit Old Elk. This was only the third time we selected barrels as a group. What we found didn't disappoint! The heart of the Old Elk story starts with Master Distiller Greg Metze. Greg is the former Master Distiller of Midwest Grain Products Ingredients (MGPi). Calling him a "master" of the craft is an understatement. After spending a couple of days tasting and chatting with Greg you quickly realize that he's probably forgotten more about whiskey making then I will ever know or understand. All praise aside, Old Elk started at MGPi. They started by recruiting Metze to create a custom mash bill for their bourbon. With instructions to create a flavorful, smooth bourbon without sparing any expense Metze got creative.

Wheaters, come gather ‘round because this one's for you. A delicious and well-balanced wheated bourbon is something every whiskey lover should get their hands on. Ours is a chance for us to show you and the world what we’re capable of. By using our expertise in creating our delicious flagship bourbon, we tweaked our recipe and upped the wheat and kept the corn at the minimum. Our wheated bourbon is a smooth and layered whiskey aged for a minimum of five years and consists of 51 percent corn, 45 percent wheat and four percent malted barley. The result? A liquid that allows for each ingredient to not only shine on its own, but highlights what happens when success meets craft.

After creating the first Old Elk mash bill, the OE team worked on the bigger task. That was to pull Metze away from the company and distillery he'd been at for 38-years! Thankfully he saw the vision of the Old Elk team and joined them full time in 2017.

Old Elk is a new wave of distillers. They started by sourcing from MGP. They brought on Master Distiller, Greg Metze, as a consultant. Then, Greg moved on from MGP and joined Old Elk full-time as their Master Distiller. They now have a mix of sourced and distilled products. Old Elk produces around 150 barrels a year at their Fort Collins, CO location.