Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye Review

Old Elk
Wheat N’ Rye
Blend of Straight Whiskeys
Master’s Blend Series
108.4 Proof
MSRP: ~$100
Review

Please enjoy our Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye Review!

Old Elk Master’s Blend Series

Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye is part of Old Elk’s Master’s Blend Series. Their Master’s Blend Series highlights the blending skills of Old Elk Master Distiller Greg Metze. These whiskeys are all limited offerings and are bottled at relatively high proof. Blends in the Series include: Infinity Blend, Old Elk Four-Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Double Wheat Whiskey and this Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye.

So, What is Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye?

Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye is “a curated blend of our award-winning 7-Year Straight Wheat Whiskey and 6-Year Straight Rye Whiskey to create a masterful blend of the highly sought after flavor profiles of both.”

Mash Bill

The resultant composite mash bill is Wheat 57.6%, Rye 38.0% and Malted Barley 4.4%.

Tasting Notes – Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye Review

Let’s taste it:

🛏 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉🏻Nose: Mildly sweet dark cherries; rye spices, like allspice and cloves; both rye and whole wheat breads; milk chocolate comes and goes; brown sugar; mild dry oak; moderate alcohol
👉🏻Taste: Fairly sweet, with honey and simple syrup; black cherry soda, caramel, butter & mild dry oak; escalating tart orange peel towards the end
👉🏻Finish: Subtle cherry soda, more dominant tart orange peel and mild dry oak linger; both black and white pepper spice grow moderately in the finish; mild barrel char later on; fairly long; moderate burn

The Flavors Are Fairly Complex

The nose is fairly complex with mildly sweet dark cherries, rye spices, and a touch of fresh rye bread, with some whole wheat bread, too. Notes of milk chocolate and chocolate milk come and go, but not consistently. The taste is fairly sweet; not so much on the first sip, but becoming more so as time goes on. The flavors in the nose continue into the taste, with some added butter and light caramel. Later, they are joined by some tart orange peel, which escalates, and changes the character. Everything lingers into the finish, and both black and white pepper spice appear and grow, but not to a high degree.

A Difficult To Define Flavor Profile

The flavor profile of Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye is a bit difficult to nail down. It actually has been a bit different to me each time that I have tasted it, particularly with respect to the chocolate notes, which I get sometimes and not others. There have been other times when multigrain bourbons have confused my taste buds, so I guess that is just what a combination of wheat and rye does.

Conclusion

Both wheat whiskey and rye whiskey have fairly distinctive flavors, but they blend together very nicely, creating a best of both worlds flavor profile. The wheat brings some fruit, pepper, body and full flavors and the rye adds in a bit of cloves, allspice and rye bread. If this flavor combination appeals to you, then you’ll want to give Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye a try! Cheers!🥃

We hope you have enjoyed our Old Elk Wheat N’ Rye Review! If you would like to read about other Old Elk Whiskeys, check out our Old Elk Wheated Bourbon Review or our Old Elk Cognac Cask Finish Bourbon Review! We also have a short video about our visit to The Reserve By Old Elk for your viewing pleasure, too!

This sample was graciously provided to me by the company for my review. Thank you!

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