I have a soft spot for Colorado whiskeys. It doesn’t matter how long they have been around or whether the product is sourced from elsewhere. If it is a Colorado brand, I’ll probably grab a bottle to sip while camping, wearing an Aksels Colorado shirt and hat. One bottle I was really excited to try was Old Elk Wheated Bourbon.
I picked up the bottle of Old Elk Wheated Bourbon for our anniversary. We had set aside a different bottle we planned to enjoy for our 5th wedding anniversary. However, given that our dog Charley passed away and some other personal issues we’d been dealing with, we decided to save the other bottle for a happier time.
I’d been wanting to try Old Elk for some time. Considering Alie and I met, got married, and still reside in Colorado, celebrating with a bottle from a Colorado distillery seemed appropriate, even if we planned to spend our anniversary weekend in Wyoming. We happily cracked the bottle open immediately after we set up camp and cheered 5 years of blissful marriage.
Old Elk Distillery
Old Elk Distillery was established in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2013 by Curt Richardson. Old Elk appears to have been Richardson’s passion project. Richardson is best known for creating OtterBox phone cases. Along the way, Richardson created Blue Ocean Enterprises as he expanded his career from plastic moldings to venture capitalism. Opening a whiskey business was clearly the obvious “cool, rich guy” move, which permeates the industry these days. It’s what you do when you don’t have enough money to purchase the Broncos.
In 2016, Greg Metze joined the Old Elk team to become the master distiller. Previously, Metze had been a distiller for the Seagrams Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Today, that distillery is called MGP and is one of the largest whiskey producers in the U.S.
Old Elk uses Old Elk Slow Cut, a process to cut their whiskey to proof before bottles. Rather than adding water and quickly bottling their whiskey, they prefer to add a little water at a time. The whole process takes “weeks, rather than days” and it claimed to preserve some of the delicate flavors that are sometimes lost when a whiskey goes from the barrel to the bottle.
Old Elk Wheated Bourbon Single Barrel
Despite likely being an MGP-sourced whiskey, it appears Old Elk uses a custom mash bill. For their standard wheated bourbon, it is 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% barley. I happened to pick up a Colorado barrel pick, which I didn’t notice initially. It came in at a full 113.6 proof and was aged for 6 years. It is different from their standard Straight Wheated Bourbon, which I have yet to try.
Tasting Notes
When I opened this bottle, I noticed it smelled sweet and delicious. I oddly picked up the smell of bubble gum on my nose. It was followed by a hint of vanilla and a touch of cherry. Upon my first sip, I noticed the bubble gum flavor that faded into vanilla and cherry. Old Elk Wheated Bourbon coated my entire mouth and left a nice mild to moderate burn that lingers for a bit.
The lingering intensity left behind by Olk Elk Wheated Bourbon had a touch of oak and cinnamon flavor before it faded into just a tingle. It was definitely an interesting finish compared to some of the other single-barrel bottles I’ve tried. I’d be interested to know if those delicate flavors show up in the standard wheated bourbon offering.
Alie noted that Old Elk Wheated Bourbon was thick and coated her mouth with an oily characteristic. Despite the 113.6 proof, she felt that it was one of the easiest sipping whiskeys we have had. Usually, the single barrel bottles tend to burn her taste buds off, more than provide a pleasant drinking experience.
Alie picked up more woody notes from the whiskey. But rather than oak, she picked up notes of cedar. She remarked that the cedar notes reminded her of her grandparents’ house. As odd as that may sound, she tends to enjoy the whiskey that reminds her of her grandparents more than you would assume.
Our Ratings
Drinkability: 4.5
Personal Preference: 4.5
Intensity: 3.2
Beginner Friendly: 3.2
Availability: 3
Overall: 4.5
Final Thoughts
Old Elk Wheated Bourbon was absolutely delicious. I was blown away by the mix of sweetness and flavors in this bottle. It is one of the more interesting whiskeys we’ve tried in the past couple of months. We even pulled out the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond and the Uncle Nearest 1884, which are two of our favorites, to compare them to Old Elk Wheated Bourbon. As our ratings reflect, we found Heaven Hill to be a bit better but ranked this particular bottle of Old Elk above Uncle Nearest by the slightest of margins.
If you happen to see a single-barrel Old Elk Wheated Bourbon, don’t think. Just pick it up and take it home. You’ll be glad you did.
Happy Exploring!
