Old Elk

United States Founded in 2013
Old Elk Bourbon is handcrafted using a meticulous Slow Cut proofing process. It’s made exclusively from three ingredients: malted barley, rye, and corn, using four times more malted barley than traditional recipes. This results in a sweeter lighter Bourbon.

Old Elk delivers sweet aromas of vanilla and caramel, and baking spice, followed by sweet syrupy flavors and notes of chocolate, oak and nuttiness. The Slow Cut Bourbon Whiskey has received numerous accolades including: a Gold medal at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a Silver medal at 2018 WSWA Tasting Competition, 90 Points from Wine Enthusiast in 2018, and a Gold medal at the 2017 Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival.
Who makes Old Elk Bourbon? Master distiller Greg Metze is the magic whiskey maker behind the scenes at the Old Elk Distillery. He began working at Old Elk following a historic 38-year career at Seagram’s Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, one of the world’s largest distilleries. He developed several types Whiskeys and even some Gin and Vodka during his time at Seagrams, making him quite the expert in Spirits (he also graduated form the University of Cincinnati in 1978 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering).
Old Elk Flavor Spiraltm
  • vanilla
  • honey
  • peach
  • toffee
  • almonds
  • nutmeg
  • marzipan
  • floral
  • pralines
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Old Elk Distillery
Founded in 1998, the phone case empire Otterbox began it’s humble roots in the Richardson’s garage. The shatter proof water-proof invention is the beloved phone case for the outdoor enthusiasts.
Old Elk Distillery
The Richardson’s purchased a historic Windmill in Colorado called the Windsor Mill, in the hopes of restoring it. Before it could be renovated the mill was tragically destroyed by a fire.

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Old Elk Distillery is situated in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded in 2013 by Curt and Nancy Richardson (creators of OtterBox and Blue Ocean Enterprises) in collaboration with Master Distiller Greg Metze, Old Elk consistently produces premium handcrafted Vodkas, Gins and Bourbons that deliver quality unlike any other.

Old Elk Distillery was named Colorado “Distillery of the Year"" by the New York International Spirits Competition for two consecutive years (2016-2017). This award-winning facility is behind expressions Old Elk Bourbon, Dry Town Gin, Dry Town Vodka and Nooku Bourbon Cream.

Old Elk Bourbon is handcrafted using their signature Slow Cut proofing process, which enhances the Bourbon’s flavors through a meticulous technique where the Spirit is cut to proof, left to rest, and the process is repeated. This method takes significantly longer than the traditional proofing process which takes 24-48 hours. This extra time allows the flavors to mingle, resulting in a smoother, more balanced Bourbon.

Crafted exclusively from three ingredients: malted barley, rye, and corn, the Old Elk recipe requires four times more malted barley than traditional recipes, creating a sweeter light character in the Bourbon. The malted barley, coupled with the spicy essence of rye, and the traditional corn, contributes to the bourbon’s overall robust flavor profile.

Their Colorado distillery also features a tasting room and eatery “The Reserve” allowing visitors to sample their various Spirits, accompanied by in depth tasting notes and inspired food pairings.
Distillery info:
  • Country United States
  • Established 2013
  • Status Active
  • Address 253 Linden St, Fort Collins, CO 80524, USA
  • Phone +1 970-419-7442
  • Websitehttps://www.oldelk.com
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Old Elk video
A transcript for non-audio situations When I graduated from college, I had no idea what I was getting into. I just thought, man it'd be pretty damn cool to be 23 and get my Whiskey. Forty years later it's still pretty damn cool.

So Kurt and I actually started the collaboration about five years ago. At that time I was still the master distiller in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and Old Elk had approached me to build a custom Bourbon mash bill for them and produce it. At that time they only gave me two words to work with. They said we want the product to be smooth and easy. So from that I basically had a clean palate to create a truly unique and custom mash bill.

The mash bill started with 51% corn and that was laying the foundation and bringing the robust characteristics of Bourbon that are attributed to the corn, but then way up the malted barley content of the 34% which is four and five times higher than anybody else in the industry. And what that does is bring in sweet and smooth characteristics. And then we left 15% for rye which brings in a spice characteristic.

So lots has been said about my hands over the years by various people but one of the things that sets me apart from many other master distillers is that I've actually been a hands-on master distiller in my whole career. I've been out in the trenches for all 40 years.

The Old Elk team is is truly just a group of young smart passionate people, I mean I'm the old goat in the crowd and getting to work with folks that are young and passionate and smart has reinvigorated my career and I couldn't be honored more to be part of that organization and that team. Old Elk is going to be a player in the Bourbon and Whiskey industry. People are going to recognize us as a world-class Whiskey as a world-class Spirit and as a world-class company