Old Elk doesn’t mess with that formula and for that this sip really resonated well with my previous experiences with MGP whiskey.

MGP bourbons have always had fantastic mouthfeels due to them typically being non-chill filtered. The finish may be the best part of this dram. Seasoned oak, espresso grounds and wet tobacco give it a rich, flavorful note to linger on while rye notes of cinnamon and cloves add a nice zing for complexity. But the finish leaves a darker more robust impact that seems different from the light and sweet notes I have experienced up to this point. And for around four years old, tobacco leaf and dark chocolate shavings really help round off the character of this whiskey.įinish: For a bourbon that lacked fruit notes so far, I’m surprised to find notes of prunes and figs. The rye grain is pushed to the back but contributes with notes of licorice and fennel seed. It’s bourbon character is shown with notes of oak spice, peppercorns and caramel chips but the malt whiskey side softens things up with flavors of Malt-O-Meal hot cereal, table syrup and cinnamon stick. Palate: The malted barley really makes for a unique drinking experience by wavering back and forth between bourbon notes and malt whiskey notes. The nose leans a bit on the softer side than most bourbon, but I’m assuming that is something the extremely high malted barley content is responsible for. There’s notes of cinnamon, oak spice and caramel latte. The nose comes off like a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal was just poured. I sampled this neat and with a Glencairn. So now that we have all the facts, what does this bourbon taste like? Does Old Elk have a solid base for future single barrels? Let’s find out. It isn’t aged much over 4 years, but typically whiskies with a higher malt content tend to soften the harshness that young distillate has.

The bottle before us today is a single barrel of the high malt mashbill I previously mentioned and is bottled at barrel proof (a rather low 107.4 proof). Most Old Elk bourbon is bottled at 88 proof and is a blend of three different bourbons. It must have been like moving into a new house, but being able to take a couple rooms you really liked from your old house with you.

Metze convinced him to expand the lineup to contain a fourth whiskey as well the 95/5 rye whiskey that MGP is famous for. Richardson was so pleased, in fact, that he lured Metze away from MGP and brought him on as the master distiller of Old Elk.

Old elk bourbon pourer