Review #205: Old Elk Four Grain Bourbon (2022)

MASH BILL and AGE: A blend of 6-7yr Old Elk High-Malt Bourbon and 6yr Old Elk Wheated Bourbon. A derived mash bill of 51% corn, 22.5% wheat, 19% malted barley, 7.5% rye.

PROOF: 105.9 

COST: $100 MSRP for 750mL bottle

This is the inaugural release of Old Elk Four Grain bourbon from 2022. It is a blend of bourbons distilled by MGP, but contract distilled specifically for Old Elk and each is a proprietary mash bill. While we don’t know the specific mash bill for the two components of this blend, knowing the derived mash bill is a barely legal bourbon at only 51% corn, that means there’s a ton of flavoring grains in here (22.5% wheat and 19% malted barley should make a statement). So, I expect this to have a pretty unique profile. Let’s check it out!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Burnished copper (1.1), oily looking as it beads on the glass and produces slow, fat legs.

NOSE: A fruity, rich sweetness. Caramel, maraschino cherry, and banana bread combine for a deep, rich sweetness right away. There’s a faint bright herbal spice as well that makes me think of mint or eucalyptus. I get a touch of sweet oak and some subtle baking spice. The more I nose this, I start to pick up on a dry grain note which I think is associated with the high malt component. I could nose this all day – very enjoyable with zero heat.

PALATE: Medium mouthfeel. Brown sugar and cherry compote right away. Baking spices start to show up with cinnamon and clove most dominant. A little tannic oak and a lovely caramelized banana note going into the finish.

FINISH: Medium length finish that is just as sweet as the rest of this sip. Sweet oak, caramel, and baking spices right away. As the spices start to withdraw, that banana bread note from the nose starts to return. Occasionally I get spoonfuls of cherry sauce. The sweet oak note outlasts the rest of the notes here and brings it to a close.

RATING: 7.8/10

OVERALL: This was like dessert in a glass! I loved the cherry notes (as usual), but the banana nut bread notes did the heavy lifting to elevate this. Old Elk bourbon has always been on the sweeter side to me, so I figured this was going to be more of the same, but this exceeded expectations. While it was tasty, rich, decadent, and all those things, it didn’t quite hit me with anything that would propel this into the excellent or incredible realm of ratings, but it is in the top end of the great ratings and rubbing elbows with excellence. I also with the finish lasted a bit longer because it was a solid dessert pour! I picked up this bottle for $25 off someone that had only had maybe 2 pours from it. It’s up there for the best $25 I’ve ever spent – great pour!

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings