This bottle is the Old Elk Wheated Bourbon, and is a single barrel selected especially for a Colorado Whiskey enthusiast group called Colorado Bourbon and Rye Collectors. We were lucky enough to be gifted one of these bottles, and we have a review here. The rumor is that the mashbill on this bottle is similar to the Weller Full Proof. At the end of the review, I’ll try them side by side and decide if that could be the case.
In the Bottle:
Barrel 503
Mashbill:
51% Corn, 45% Wheat, 4% Malted Barley
Age:
5 Years
Proof (ABV):
116.2 (58.1% ABV)
In the Glass:
Color:
Pale golden copper, and very clear.
Nose:
Sweet and bready notes, a little bit of the alcohol nose, crisp ripe fruit. It is a bit softer of a nose than expected for a bourbon this high in proof. A slight amount of honey in there as well, with some baking spices.
Palate:
Sweet bourbon corn right up front, but it quickly moves into a leathery tobacco and butterscotch middle. It is not very oily, but has a layered type of mouth feel. Some baking spice notes, along with dried raspberry all complimenting each other very well.
Finish:
A drier finish with some wood, and leather notes to it. Maybe even a dried tobacco leaf quality to it. Despite not being an overly thick or oily mouthfeel, it really lingers for a while on the tongue after the sip.
With a couple drops of Water:
Nose:
Angela says notes of plum and cinnamon, reminiscent of a Christmas candle. Zach gets more of the baked bread, almost like walking past a house that just finished making a couple loaves.
Palate:
Sweeter with the water added, fruits compliment notes of baked bread while the tobacco and leather just sort of hang around the background. A bit of vanilla and butterscotch are still present, and it somehow has a thicker mouthfeel after a couple drops of water.
Finish:
A bit sweeter, thicker, and longer finish. The vanilla and butterscotch come out a bit more, but that fresh out of the oven soft baked bread sensation is just fantastic, and hangs around for a while. It is still dry, but sweetens up a good amount with just a couple drops of water.
Final Thoughts:
Oh boy. Kentucky and the BT Distillery better look out if stuff like this is made outside of the state. It is a fantastic bottle, and truly an excellent pick by the Colorado Bourbon and Rye Collectors. Old Elk distillery is really doing some great things, so even though this release may not be something that you can find, we HIGHLY recommend picking up a bottle from them.
We did try this side by side with the Weller Full Proof as well. The Full proof had more fruit notes, banana, and was a bit sweeter. The Old Elk was more bold, especially right up front, and honestly stands up to the Weller without a problem. Both had the same dry style finish, and honestly I may pick up the Old Elk before grabbing another Weller Full Proof, assuming both are easily accessible in the future.
