Old Elk Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

Old Elk
Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey
88 Proof
Old Elk Distillery
Fort Collins, CO
MSRP: $39.99
Review

Please enjoy our Old Elk Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review by Laura Becker!

Background From the February 27, 2025 press release:

“Old Elk answers the call for the everyday occasion with Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon.”  

Your New Daily Drinker?

Is Old Elk Slow Cut your new daily drinker? The press release states that “Old Elk Distillery is proud to showcase the next step in the evolution of its Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon. This latest expression in their lineup continues to build on Old Elk’s award-winning high-malt straight bourbon mash bill, aged 4 to 7 years, and blended with Old Elk select straight bourbons.” The Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon is characterized as “a smooth, approachable bourbon designed for cocktails and whiskey enthusiasts alike.”

Part of the Old Elk Core Whiskey Lineup

“The spirit maintains its place as a core whiskey in our lineup, with a price point that makes it more accessible,” says Melinda Maddox, Master Blender at Old Elk Distillery. “We can’t wait to hear the bartenders’ community feedback about the latest iteration of Slow Cut Blended Straight and see how it plays into their creativity in cocktails.”

Slow Cut™ Proofing

At 88 proof Slow Cut bourbon highlights Old Elk’s trademarked proofing technique. “The Slow Cut™ Proofing Process preserves flavor by lengthening the standard proofing process to up to 10 times. To proof alcohol, water is added until the liquid reaches the desired strength. However, this creates a heat liberating reaction, and when you add hundreds of gallons of water in a day or two, it ends up boiling off many of the lighter, finer flavors. Instead of a day, Old Elk spends weeks adding small increments of water to keep the liquid cool and save the delicate flavors produced during mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.” Old Elk is seeking to bridge the gap between quality and affordability with this new product so it can be the whiskey consumer’s “everyday occasion” bourbon.

The Specifics

Greg Metze is the Master Distiller with Old Elk Distillery. He was formerly the Master Distiller with MGP (now Ross and Squibb). That means he knows his rye whiskey. But, now at the helm of Old Elk since its inception, he has been a part of developing, and now reimagining and redeveloping, the Old Elk bourbon recipe.

Old Elk is transparent and states that they contract distill. Greg Metze and the Old Elk distillery team developed a custom mash bill and contract distilled with his old distillery, MGP. Old Elk states that they work with three key partners to ensure the quality and consistency of their barrel-aged, blended bourbon. These three partners are not named.

Regarding Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the aforementioned press release notes that it “starts with a foundation of their  award-winning custom high-malt straight bourbon mash bill aged 4-7 years and blends with Old Elk select straight bourbons to create an approachable, unique, and traditional bourbon.” At this point, we are not clear what those other “Old Elk select straight bourbons” are, and are trying to get clarification. It is bottled at 88 proof.

It can be noted that Non-Slow Cut version of Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey’s mash bill is 51% corn, 34% malted barley and 15% rye. The elevated amount of malt stands out compared to other bourbon mash bills. This is presumably the mash bill that serves as the “foundation” of Slow Cut.

Tasting Notes – Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

Let’s taste it:

🛏 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉🏻Nose: due to the lower proof point, the nose is quite subtle and delicate with notes of vanilla, light corn and slight oak
👉🏻Taste: mouthfeel is a buttery richness – no hint of an oily quality; the flavors that made themselves known on the palate include almond and maple syrup, rounding out to caramel
👉🏻Finish: short, dry finish; the buttery mouthfeel did not stick around long; ends with notes in light baking spice and brown sugar

Laura is the primary reviewer on this bourbon, but Ed has tasted it, too. He noted light rye spices, soft caramel and subtle green apples in the nose, in addition to the aromas that Laura has mentioned. On the palate, Ed found that Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey was fairly light bodied and mildly sweet, with light honey, mild rye spices and mild dry oak, joined by tart orange peel, later on. He concurs that the finish is fairly short and becomes dry, but noted white pepper spice, lingering dry wood and mild barrel char.

Conclusion

Old Elk Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a very enjoyable bourbon. Both the proof and price point make this a great buy. At 88 proof you can relax and sip on this bourbon – It won’t blow your palate, and for about $40 it won’t blow your budget! It is a perfect bourbon for those new to bourbon with that 88 proof point. For those that consider themselves bourbon connoisseurs, they may enjoy discussing the science behind the Slow Cut proofing process relative to other bourbon expressions. Lastly, it is versatile! Old Elk Slow Cut Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey has those traditional classic bourbon notes so it can be enjoyed neat as well as in a cocktail.

Have you had this bourbon? What did you think? Cheers!🥃

Would you like to learn about some of Old Elk’s other whiskeys? Here are some of our other reviews: Old Elk Wheated Bourbon Review, Old Elk Straight Rye Whiskey Review, Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye Review.

About the Author: Laura Becker, an Executive Bourbon Steward of the Stave & Thief Society, serves on the boards of the Lexington Bourbon Society and Kentucky Bourbon Influencers. Laura also works as a Brand Ambassador for few different distilleries. Lastly, each summer she and her husband, Frank, teach Whisk(e)y education experiences at Chautauqua Institution in New York.

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!