Old Elk Wheat N' Rye

$249.00
Overview

The nose opens with an inviting brightness — freshly baked bread layered with caramel, chocolate malt, and a lively lift of rye spice and green apple. It's an aromatic that draws you in immediately.

On the palate, a wave of sweetness arrives first — chocolate, caramel, and ripe cherries — before giving way to a complex, building spice profile with rye firmly at the helm. Just as the rye threatens to tip into menthol territory, a well-timed hit of oak tannins steps in to add structure and intrigue.

This is a whiskey that rewards patience. Each sip reveals something new, and the interplay between sweetness, spice, and oak keeps you coming back. The finish is long and layered — a fitting close to a genuinely compelling blend.

Product Details

  • DISTILLER: Old Elk Distillery
  • MASH BILL: A blend of wheat and rye whiskeys resulting in an overall mash bill of 57.6% wheat | 38% Rye | 4.4% barley.
  • AGE: A blend of 7- and 6-year-old whiskeys.
  • YEAR: 2023
  • ABV: 54.2%
  • Size: 750ml

Tasting Notes

  • Nose: Fresh baked bread, honey and caramel, with a bit of green apple and rye spice
  • Palate: Sweet up front with caramel and cherries, then rye spice builds with oak coming through underneath
  • Finish: Warm and spicy, with the oak and rye spice lingering longest

The wheat brings the sweetness, the rye brings the spice, and together they land somewhere neither one gets to on its own.

What sets this bottle apart

  • A genuine blend of two straight whiskeys, not just a wheated bourbon with a bit of rye added
  • Built from Old Elk's award-winning 7-year wheat and 6-year rye whiskeys
  • Bottled at 108.4 proof for real depth and presence
  • Part of the limited Master's Blend Series, put together by master distiller Greg Metze
  • Chairman's Trophy winner, 95 points, at the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge

Distillery Information

Old Elk Distillery is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has built a reputation for pushing past the usual bourbon and rye playbook with unconventional mash bills and thoughtful blending. Their Master's Blend Series is where that approach shows up most, bringing together standout barrels from their range into new combinations that don't exist anywhere else.

Wheat N' Rye combines Old Elk's 7 year straight wheat whiskey with their 6 year straight rye whiskey, put together by master distiller Greg Metze, who draws on more than 40 years of experience distilling rye whiskey.

Awards & Recognition

  • Chairman's Trophy, 95 Points, 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge
  • Gold Medal, 2023 Bartender Spirits Awards

Who this bottle is for

  • Whiskey drinkers who love both wheat and rye and don't want to choose
  • Anyone after a higher proof pour with real depth and spice
  • Old Elk fans keen to try the Master's Blend Series
  • Collectors after a limited, well-reviewed blend that's genuinely a bit different

How to enjoy

  • Best neat, given the proof and how much is going on in the glass
  • A few drops of water can help settle the spice if you want it a bit softer
  • Take your time with it; the flavours shift as it sits in the glass

Why we curate it

Old Elk Wheat N' Rye is proof that a good blend is about more than just mixing two good whiskeys together. Sweet wheat and spicy rye play off each other here in a way that's genuinely worth the higher price tag. Limited, well awarded, and one of the more interesting pours on the shelf right now.