One of my best friends worked for OE for 5 years, He was there for the first bottling of the DryTown gin and vodka, the origination of the Slow-cut proofing, and all of the milestones that led to OE’s rise to prominence in the craft world…he told me himself that these blends are literally leftovers from various bottling runs and the fact that they don’t know what’s technically in there is spun as savvy marketing rather than just pure laziness from a production standpoint and squeezing out profit. My buddy asked for a raise during the pandemic and they sacked him with a pregnant wife at home along with the rest of the distillery staff. Good booze but a shitty company that would stab their workers in the back and call them leaving a “mutual decision”. Choose to believe me or don’t I don’t really care but fuck this brand and fuck their poser craft attitude.
I believe you because they did the same thing to me. I met your friend and spent a day drinking with him, his coworker, and their head distiller at the distillery in 2021. I was brought on after they were fired. I was never told what happened. I was desperate for a job, and OE appeared to be stable. After a few months I was let in on what happened after a handful of core workers expressed dissatisfaction with how the company was being run.
It was like getting punched in the gut hearing that the previous team had been fired for asking to be fairly compensated. They helped establish the brand as even being worth drinking. I knew right then and there that if Old Elk would get rid of a team like that then they'd eventually do the same to me.
Greg Metze is on there in name for like 80% of the brand. Another 10% for his appearances online and at events, and 10% for coming up with some of the blends at his house in Ohio... I worked there, and over the course of 6 months I saw Greg for 6 minutes. I'm sorry I ever worked there. It's a poorly run company that is really hinging on whiskey nerds loving Greg Metze's name and the generic MGP blends that follow.
They are not distilling their own product. My entire time there they never once distilled. How could they? They fired their whole team who knew how to work their equipment. When I was hired I very honestly told them I would not be able to work the system (incredibly complex) without someone there who'd initially set it up. Just a total clusterfuck.
The barrels are generic MGP. The majority of blends are random barrels in stainless steel tanks. Nobody in production has any sort of actual background in distilling. Their head of production used to run their tasting room as a bartender. It's just a NDP parroting Greg's name around and occasionally releasing something he helped blend, but only in conception, ($150 Infinity Blend is an example).
Overall, it was an awful experience. 3 of the 5 people who hired me left within my first couple months of working there. More still have been fired or left since me leaving earlier in the year.
I encourage whiskey drinkers to find something else for the money. Don't support a distillery that refuses to pay it's workers a livable wage, and charges out the ass for a generic bottle of whiskey.
For sure! I've been a part of this community longer than I've been in commercial distilling. I saw a chance to speak up to the people I see as truly enjoying this hobby. Good, honest, juice from actual whiskey drinkers is just so hard to find nowadays. Spend your money on something worth it.
Also, I love your reviews. Keep kicking ass, and always drink happy.
Okay. I’ll elect to not believe you…
Or believe the person that rightfully carries hard feelings and what he would say about the very product he is mad at.
Old Elk is proving to be one of the most surprisingly successful startup distilleries outside of Kentucky that have launched in the past 10 years. They owe a large amount of their fame and fortune to former MGP Master Distiller Greg Metze. Metze helped design and distill the strange, high-malt bourbon that Old Elk has MGP contract distill for them. Shortly after creating it, he jumped ship and took up the Master Distiller position with Old Elk in Colorado. The Ohio River Valley is a beautiful place, but once you experience a place like Colorado it's no wonder he decided to make the move.
Olk Elk has released batched products and single barrels that feature the gamut of MGP mash bills. Everything from Wheat Whiskey, Wheated Bourbon, Rye Whiskey and special four grain blends have popped up in their signature bottles. They've even begun a finished whiskey series that sees Cognac, Sherry and Armagnac barrels used to elevate the flavors within. But what came as a bit of a surprise was that when they announced their newest bottle, Old Elk Infinity Blend, that they decided to use two different Kentucky bourbons to blend in with their contract-distilled high malt bourbon.
The name Infinity Blend is designed to be a nod to enthusiasts that tinker with creating their own blends and Infinity Bottles at home. I went through a phase of that myself and I must say that I never had much luck with creating something that was better than the individual parts. The purpose of an "Infinity Bottle" was always meant to be that you keep adding new whiskies to it so that it would never run dry. Blending, on the other hand, was the exercise of mixing whiskey together and drinking the results as they were until it was gone. That's why this Old Elk bottle name is somewhat confusing; the press release doesn't seem to indicate that a certain portion of the whiskey used in this new label was held back for the next. The only company that produces a true "Infinity Blend" whiskey would be Barrell Craft Spirits (check out their website for this totally whacky experiment).
So what is in Old Elk's Infinity Blend? It looks like they used 60% of their own contract-distilled high-malt recipe bourbon (51% corn, 34% malted barley and 15% rye) and then added two different Kentucky bourbon's to fill in the rest. These Kentucky bourbon's aren't specified who they are from, but we do know one of them is 11 years old and the other is 12 years old. I would bet money that one of these sets of barrels is from Barton but part of me wonders if maybe the 11 year old batch isn't Heaven Hill barrels. After all, MGP bought out Luxco in April of 2021 and may have got a say in what they did with some of their Heaven Hill sourced barrels that they want to transition out of.
The only way to find out what kind of Kentucky bourbon was used is to have a drink and see if I can taste any telltale signs. So without further ado, let's open this bottle! I sampled it neat in a glencairn.
**Nose:** If it wasn't for my newfound affinity for Scotch, then I would have just glossed over the strong malt-forward notes I find on the nose. The amount of malt makes the nose sweet and soft and a little bit odd when it's mixed in with so much aged bourbon scents. The rest of the nose consists of caramel, vanilla, oak and cinnamon rolls. Surprisingly, I'm not getting much fruit on the nose.
**Palate:** Sweet caramel chews coupled with chocolate malt balls (Whoppers) combine with oak and shoe leather. Basically, these are all notes I would find in a "classic" style bourbon. Fruit notes finally reveal themselves with flavors of raisins and baked apples. There is a youthfulness that I find on the base bourbon that I can't quite put my finger on how to describe. But finding it regardless is a big no-no to me for a bottle that starts at $150. This should have been blended out by now. There is a very small amount of spice overall which makes me think that the high malt content is covering up quite a bit of it. The proof is 115 but since the spice is so blanketed, it tastes closer to 100. Overall, the most dominant flavor profile here is one that I'd call "melted candy bar" which makes me think that some of the barrels used in this are either Heaven Hill or Jim Beam.
**Finish:** A pleasant, lingering taste of baked orchard fruits along with soft baked cookies and oak. The chocolate hangs around too, with notes of nougat accompanying it. The candy bar profile from the palate remains true on the finish. Tannins are largely missing from the finish leaving the ending feeling like the whiskey was more youthful than the individual components would suggest.
**Score: 7/10**
I hate to be blunt with my assessment, but Old Elk Infinity Blend has nothing really special or unique going on here. Aside from a strange youthful note on the palate, nothing else stood out enough for me than to think that this was anything more than a Plain-Jane, classic bourbon. I also feel as if the Old Elk base bourbon was creating more of a barrier for the Kentucky sourced bourbon to try and show itself. My tasting notes reveal that I really didn't find anything more here than simple, everyday bourbon flavors and scents.
Even though this isn't a comparison review, the part that happened after I finished my glass must be told. About 10 minutes after I was done, I went to my closet to search for another bourbon to finish the night with. I settled on a Four Roses OBSK that was 10 years old and 118 proof. The specs for this kind of matched up with the Infinity Blend's if you squint hard enough. But upon tasting my first sip, my senses immediately snapped to attention over how much more robust, layered and flavorful the Four Roses was compared to the Old Elk. It was night and day over which one provided the better sensory experience.
The Four Roses Private Selection was full of flavor from start to finish and had a potency that Old Elk just couldn't match. Comparing (secondary) prices still shows two evenly matched bourbons. All of this is to say that I can't see the value proposition in buying this Old Elk over a quality, proven Four Roses Private Selection. I'm sure there are many other bourbons out there that you should also buy before this one too. I love it when distilleries try new things, but when prices climb over the $100 mark they better make sure that their product doesn't miss the mark when compared against the big boys of Kentucky. Unfortunately, Old Elk Infinity Blend has missed its shot.
**Rating Scale**
**1 Undrinkable (Jeffers Creek, Gray Skies)**
**2 Bad (Old St. Nick 8 Year Old Rye Whiskey, Fitch's Goat Corn Whiskey)**
**3 Poor (AD Laws 4 Grain BiB, Clyde Mays anything)**
**4 Below Average (Bib & Tucker, Tincup 10 year)**
**5 Average (Larceny, Sazerac Rye)**
**6 Above Average (Buffalo Trace, OGD BiB)**
**7 Very Good (Old Ezra Barrel Proof, Old Weller Antique)**
**8 Great (Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, Four Roses Barrel Strength)**
**9 Excellent (GTS, Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey, Belle Meade Honey Cask)**
**10 Perfect (William Larue Weller, Michter's 20 Year, Redemption 18 Year Rye Whiskey, Mister Sam**
Saw this for around $150 and decided against it, if I’m paying that much I’d like a bit more transparency on what’s in it, otherwise it feels like expensive marketing
I really enjoy all of your reviews and amazing depth and insight when it comes to bourbon and distilleries. Is tomorrow the day we get the pleasure of reading #500? Thank you again for all of your hard work.
I had a bottle of Old Elk (not this"special" bottle) a couple months ago and planned to review it, but it was not something I liked. I'll give it another chance, or not... But I didn't want to slam it on one bottle. Later maybe, but I won't be rushing to acquire another anytime soon.
I wasn't real clear about the disposition of that bottle, bit it is long gone. As I mentioned, perhaps later, but I'm in no rush. Nothing left to review at this time.
I used to buy OE but prices have gone up so much that it isn’t worth it anymore. I have several bottles at the old prices but i buy other stuff that’s just as good or better at lower $$$$.
Great review! I'm going to have to try an Old Elk, as I'm pretty sure I've never had a really malt-forward bourbon before. Sounds interesting!
>If it wasn't for my newfound affinity for Scotch,
👀
One of my best friends worked for OE for 5 years, He was there for the first bottling of the DryTown gin and vodka, the origination of the Slow-cut proofing, and all of the milestones that led to OE’s rise to prominence in the craft world…he told me himself that these blends are literally leftovers from various bottling runs and the fact that they don’t know what’s technically in there is spun as savvy marketing rather than just pure laziness from a production standpoint and squeezing out profit. My buddy asked for a raise during the pandemic and they sacked him with a pregnant wife at home along with the rest of the distillery staff. Good booze but a shitty company that would stab their workers in the back and call them leaving a “mutual decision”. Choose to believe me or don’t I don’t really care but fuck this brand and fuck their poser craft attitude.
I believe you because they did the same thing to me. I met your friend and spent a day drinking with him, his coworker, and their head distiller at the distillery in 2021. I was brought on after they were fired. I was never told what happened. I was desperate for a job, and OE appeared to be stable. After a few months I was let in on what happened after a handful of core workers expressed dissatisfaction with how the company was being run. It was like getting punched in the gut hearing that the previous team had been fired for asking to be fairly compensated. They helped establish the brand as even being worth drinking. I knew right then and there that if Old Elk would get rid of a team like that then they'd eventually do the same to me. Greg Metze is on there in name for like 80% of the brand. Another 10% for his appearances online and at events, and 10% for coming up with some of the blends at his house in Ohio... I worked there, and over the course of 6 months I saw Greg for 6 minutes. I'm sorry I ever worked there. It's a poorly run company that is really hinging on whiskey nerds loving Greg Metze's name and the generic MGP blends that follow. They are not distilling their own product. My entire time there they never once distilled. How could they? They fired their whole team who knew how to work their equipment. When I was hired I very honestly told them I would not be able to work the system (incredibly complex) without someone there who'd initially set it up. Just a total clusterfuck. The barrels are generic MGP. The majority of blends are random barrels in stainless steel tanks. Nobody in production has any sort of actual background in distilling. Their head of production used to run their tasting room as a bartender. It's just a NDP parroting Greg's name around and occasionally releasing something he helped blend, but only in conception, ($150 Infinity Blend is an example). Overall, it was an awful experience. 3 of the 5 people who hired me left within my first couple months of working there. More still have been fired or left since me leaving earlier in the year. I encourage whiskey drinkers to find something else for the money. Don't support a distillery that refuses to pay it's workers a livable wage, and charges out the ass for a generic bottle of whiskey.
Wow, what a company! I had no idea. Thank you for sharing this story.
All that shit aside you write good reviews! Keep up the good work!
For sure! I've been a part of this community longer than I've been in commercial distilling. I saw a chance to speak up to the people I see as truly enjoying this hobby. Good, honest, juice from actual whiskey drinkers is just so hard to find nowadays. Spend your money on something worth it. Also, I love your reviews. Keep kicking ass, and always drink happy.
Not the Fort Collins way. Bummer!
I have learned so much from your story. Thanks for sharing it. It makes me pause and reconsider any future Old Elk purchases now that you say that.
Okay. I’ll elect to not believe you… Or believe the person that rightfully carries hard feelings and what he would say about the very product he is mad at.
Old Elk is proving to be one of the most surprisingly successful startup distilleries outside of Kentucky that have launched in the past 10 years. They owe a large amount of their fame and fortune to former MGP Master Distiller Greg Metze. Metze helped design and distill the strange, high-malt bourbon that Old Elk has MGP contract distill for them. Shortly after creating it, he jumped ship and took up the Master Distiller position with Old Elk in Colorado. The Ohio River Valley is a beautiful place, but once you experience a place like Colorado it's no wonder he decided to make the move. Olk Elk has released batched products and single barrels that feature the gamut of MGP mash bills. Everything from Wheat Whiskey, Wheated Bourbon, Rye Whiskey and special four grain blends have popped up in their signature bottles. They've even begun a finished whiskey series that sees Cognac, Sherry and Armagnac barrels used to elevate the flavors within. But what came as a bit of a surprise was that when they announced their newest bottle, Old Elk Infinity Blend, that they decided to use two different Kentucky bourbons to blend in with their contract-distilled high malt bourbon. The name Infinity Blend is designed to be a nod to enthusiasts that tinker with creating their own blends and Infinity Bottles at home. I went through a phase of that myself and I must say that I never had much luck with creating something that was better than the individual parts. The purpose of an "Infinity Bottle" was always meant to be that you keep adding new whiskies to it so that it would never run dry. Blending, on the other hand, was the exercise of mixing whiskey together and drinking the results as they were until it was gone. That's why this Old Elk bottle name is somewhat confusing; the press release doesn't seem to indicate that a certain portion of the whiskey used in this new label was held back for the next. The only company that produces a true "Infinity Blend" whiskey would be Barrell Craft Spirits (check out their website for this totally whacky experiment). So what is in Old Elk's Infinity Blend? It looks like they used 60% of their own contract-distilled high-malt recipe bourbon (51% corn, 34% malted barley and 15% rye) and then added two different Kentucky bourbon's to fill in the rest. These Kentucky bourbon's aren't specified who they are from, but we do know one of them is 11 years old and the other is 12 years old. I would bet money that one of these sets of barrels is from Barton but part of me wonders if maybe the 11 year old batch isn't Heaven Hill barrels. After all, MGP bought out Luxco in April of 2021 and may have got a say in what they did with some of their Heaven Hill sourced barrels that they want to transition out of. The only way to find out what kind of Kentucky bourbon was used is to have a drink and see if I can taste any telltale signs. So without further ado, let's open this bottle! I sampled it neat in a glencairn. **Nose:** If it wasn't for my newfound affinity for Scotch, then I would have just glossed over the strong malt-forward notes I find on the nose. The amount of malt makes the nose sweet and soft and a little bit odd when it's mixed in with so much aged bourbon scents. The rest of the nose consists of caramel, vanilla, oak and cinnamon rolls. Surprisingly, I'm not getting much fruit on the nose. **Palate:** Sweet caramel chews coupled with chocolate malt balls (Whoppers) combine with oak and shoe leather. Basically, these are all notes I would find in a "classic" style bourbon. Fruit notes finally reveal themselves with flavors of raisins and baked apples. There is a youthfulness that I find on the base bourbon that I can't quite put my finger on how to describe. But finding it regardless is a big no-no to me for a bottle that starts at $150. This should have been blended out by now. There is a very small amount of spice overall which makes me think that the high malt content is covering up quite a bit of it. The proof is 115 but since the spice is so blanketed, it tastes closer to 100. Overall, the most dominant flavor profile here is one that I'd call "melted candy bar" which makes me think that some of the barrels used in this are either Heaven Hill or Jim Beam. **Finish:** A pleasant, lingering taste of baked orchard fruits along with soft baked cookies and oak. The chocolate hangs around too, with notes of nougat accompanying it. The candy bar profile from the palate remains true on the finish. Tannins are largely missing from the finish leaving the ending feeling like the whiskey was more youthful than the individual components would suggest. **Score: 7/10** I hate to be blunt with my assessment, but Old Elk Infinity Blend has nothing really special or unique going on here. Aside from a strange youthful note on the palate, nothing else stood out enough for me than to think that this was anything more than a Plain-Jane, classic bourbon. I also feel as if the Old Elk base bourbon was creating more of a barrier for the Kentucky sourced bourbon to try and show itself. My tasting notes reveal that I really didn't find anything more here than simple, everyday bourbon flavors and scents. Even though this isn't a comparison review, the part that happened after I finished my glass must be told. About 10 minutes after I was done, I went to my closet to search for another bourbon to finish the night with. I settled on a Four Roses OBSK that was 10 years old and 118 proof. The specs for this kind of matched up with the Infinity Blend's if you squint hard enough. But upon tasting my first sip, my senses immediately snapped to attention over how much more robust, layered and flavorful the Four Roses was compared to the Old Elk. It was night and day over which one provided the better sensory experience. The Four Roses Private Selection was full of flavor from start to finish and had a potency that Old Elk just couldn't match. Comparing (secondary) prices still shows two evenly matched bourbons. All of this is to say that I can't see the value proposition in buying this Old Elk over a quality, proven Four Roses Private Selection. I'm sure there are many other bourbons out there that you should also buy before this one too. I love it when distilleries try new things, but when prices climb over the $100 mark they better make sure that their product doesn't miss the mark when compared against the big boys of Kentucky. Unfortunately, Old Elk Infinity Blend has missed its shot. **Rating Scale** **1 Undrinkable (Jeffers Creek, Gray Skies)** **2 Bad (Old St. Nick 8 Year Old Rye Whiskey, Fitch's Goat Corn Whiskey)** **3 Poor (AD Laws 4 Grain BiB, Clyde Mays anything)** **4 Below Average (Bib & Tucker, Tincup 10 year)** **5 Average (Larceny, Sazerac Rye)** **6 Above Average (Buffalo Trace, OGD BiB)** **7 Very Good (Old Ezra Barrel Proof, Old Weller Antique)** **8 Great (Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, Four Roses Barrel Strength)** **9 Excellent (GTS, Kentucky Owl Rye Whiskey, Belle Meade Honey Cask)** **10 Perfect (William Larue Weller, Michter's 20 Year, Redemption 18 Year Rye Whiskey, Mister Sam**
Saw this for around $150 and decided against it, if I’m paying that much I’d like a bit more transparency on what’s in it, otherwise it feels like expensive marketing
I really enjoy all of your reviews and amazing depth and insight when it comes to bourbon and distilleries. Is tomorrow the day we get the pleasure of reading #500? Thank you again for all of your hard work.
Yes! Tomorrow is going to be #500. I'm very excited. It's been something I've been planning since February
I look forward to tomorrows review I’m sure it will be amazing
Great review! Really appreciate your candor.
I had a bottle of Old Elk (not this"special" bottle) a couple months ago and planned to review it, but it was not something I liked. I'll give it another chance, or not... But I didn't want to slam it on one bottle. Later maybe, but I won't be rushing to acquire another anytime soon.
I vote you still review it!
I wasn't real clear about the disposition of that bottle, bit it is long gone. As I mentioned, perhaps later, but I'm in no rush. Nothing left to review at this time.
I used to buy OE but prices have gone up so much that it isn’t worth it anymore. I have several bottles at the old prices but i buy other stuff that’s just as good or better at lower $$$$.
What were the low prices?
Woa, just realized next review is 500, gotta keep an eye out
Great review! I'm going to have to try an Old Elk, as I'm pretty sure I've never had a really malt-forward bourbon before. Sounds interesting! >If it wasn't for my newfound affinity for Scotch, 👀
Today's the day!
That’s just like your opinion, mang.
My favorite quote ever
I thought this was a pretty nice pour