Old Elk Sour Mash Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Back when Old Elk was getting started, Greg Metze was working on finding that perfect recipe for his smooth, innovative whiskey. He finally landed on a uniquely high malted barley content and the result has been a big hit with Bourbon lovers. At the time, Greg had the foresight to set a few barrels and variations aside, including a Sour Mash Reserve. The difference in expression that stems from a change in yeast strain, plus distillery location, is wild. “The magic is in the fermentation,” they say. For this ongoing limited release program, each batch will vary, and each will run only 30 barrels deep, making it a rare treasure worth hunting down.
Old Elk Distillery, in Fort Collins, is the brainchild of Greg Metze, who is best known as the master distiller at MGP (the source for many of your favorite American whiskeys) for 38 years, and Curt Richardson (founder of Otterbox and the reason your phone didn’t break when you dropped it the other day.) Metze has taken his bourbon experience and put it to good use with the pristine waters of Northern Colorado. Using a proprietary “slow cut” proofing process they gradually add water to the whiskey over several weeks to preserve the congeners in the whiskey… congeners are what give your favorite bottles their flavor. This visionary technique will eventually be copied by others in the future, bet your bottom dollar.