Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whiskey from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way.
Old Elk is one of Colorado’s more prominent craft distilleries these days. Founded in 2013, the distillery team here is led by Master Distiller Greg Metze, a decades-long veteran who learned his trade at the old Seagram’s Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and Melinda Maddox, who joined Old Elk in 2019 as the Beverage Director and, more recently, she became its first Master Blender.
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Old Elk has its whiskeys contract distilled for it, leveraging “an existing distilling facility and their equipment to bring to life” its custom mash bills created by Metze. A particular focus of Old Elk is its so-called “Slow Cut Proofing Process,” in which water, instead of typically being added in a very short period to whiskey to proof it, is added over weeks in “small increments” to keep the liquid cool” and save “the delicate flavors” produced during “mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation” that is said to be lost when gallons of water are added nearly all at once.
Old Elk’s whiskey products focus on four key areas: core bottlings, a “Master’s Blend” series, a “Cask Finish” series, and some more specialized offerings. A high-malt bourbon helped put this distillery on the map, and these days, it is joined by wheat whiskey, rye whiskey, and wheated bourbon, among others.
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What’s in the bottle
The whiskey being reviewed here, Old Elk 8 Year Wheated Bourbon, falls into the distillery’s more specialized offerings. The mash bill on this expression is extremely wheat-forward, with 45% wheat content added in. Distilled in Indiana, it is bottled at 100 proof and costs $99.99.
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