Old Elk

Based in Fort Collins, Denver, Old Elk was founded in 2013 by Curt Richardson, who also created Otterbox, a well known brand of phone cases.

The Master Distiller is Greg Metze, who had spent nearly 40 years working at the MGP distillery in Indiana before leaving in 2016. The vast majority of Old Elk whiskey is sourced from MGP - and while for many American whiskey drinkers this is seen as a 'cop-out' and a slight against the quality, Old Elk worked out an agreement with Greg initially to produce their own specific mashbill and distillate as opposed to purchasing 'standard' stocks. Greg's relationship grew strong with Old Elk and he now runs the new distillery, with around 90% of the whiskey stock still coming from MGP.

This particular bottling - with a mashbill of 95% red wheat and 5% malted barley, aged for 5 years - is a barrel pick by Marcia Wells, owner of the fantastic 1st Avenue Liquors in Tampa, Florida. I had the pleasure of meeting Marcia in person during a distillery visit in September 2022 and she is a wonderful, vivacious person with an incredible passion for all things whiskey. And she can absolutely pick a barrel, because there is incredible depth and complexity going on here. - there's orchard fruits and cherries, plus a hearty kick of warm oak on the lengthy finish that offers hints of cherry stones.