Tasting With Mike And Matt – Old Elk Wheated Bourbon

This post sponsored by the Glencairn Whisky Glass

Rosemary saw this bottle on Seelbach’s website and purchased it. It is sourced whiskey from Indiana and a single barrel pick from the people at Seelbach’s. Matt and I included it in our Stitzel-Weller challenge and found it to be a good Bourbon but not as good as Stitzel-Weller wheated recipe Bourbon from the 1960s, but then again, there are not many Bourbons that are that good.

Old Elk is bottled by the Old Elk Distillery in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have a distillery but they have only been distilling a short time and they are still sourcing their whiskey for the brand. They have done a good job sourcing fine whiskey. If the whiskey that they have sourced is any indication of the flavor profile that they hope to create, then they will do just fine.

Old Elk Wheated Bourbon, Seelbach’s single barrel selection

Proof: 115.4

Age: Five Years Old

Nose:

Mike: Caramel. Dates, oak and a hint of fine leather.
Matt: Caramel and chocolate with a hint of grassy or herbal notes.

Taste:

Mike: Caramel, dates and dried cherries with sweet oak and white pepper. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the fruits are enhanced and the pepper becomes black pepper. Tasted with a pecan and the caramel is enhanced but the fruit pretty much disappears.
Matt: Chocolate and red hot cinnamon candy. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a little cherry fruit comes out to join the other flavors. Tasted with a pecan and it becomes very spicy with red pepper flakes and cinnamon.

Finish:

Mike: Long with sweet oak, white pepper and a hint of lingering fruit sweetness. The dried cranberry removed the fruit notes while enhancing the pepper. The pecan made the finish even longer with lots of black pepper and oak.
Matt: Long and spicy with red hot cinnamon candy and pepper flakes. The dried cranberry made the pepper a black pepper flavor. The pecan brought out more oak and the pepper was black pepper.

I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that is rich in vanilla and chocolate notes. I think anything made by My Father cigars would work well with Old Elk wheated Bourbon.