It’s been kind of funny, in the last decade or so, to watch the bourbon world slowly adopt so many of the affectations that were previously associated with other sectors of super-premium spirits. Go back a couple of decades, for instance, and you would have seen little if any advertising for high-end cigars tailored toward the American whiskey or bourbon drinker–those would have been reserved for imbibers of “fancy” barrel-aged spirits, such as scotch whisky and brandy. But wouldn’t you know it: Over the last decade of creeping bourbon MSRPs, collector mania and retailer price gouging, bourbon suddenly found itself seemingly best friends with the cigar world, to the point that many brands (such as the well-known Joseph Magnus) have developed expressions directly referencing consuming them with cigars. A more recent case in point? Old Elk Cigar Cut.
This is not simply a “better” or extra-aged variation on a company’s flagship bourbon, however. If anything, Old Elk Cigar Cut Island Blend Whiskey is complex in its construction to the point of confusion. This is a very heady combination of elements that the company, known for its experiments in techniques such as slow-water proofing, has put together. It’s essentially an extra-aged take on the company’s Cask Finish Series, albeit a combination of numerous types of cask that make up that series. Specifically, the newly released Island Blend favors “more tropic-affiliated barrels,” meaning that this is a blend of whiskeys finished in styles such as port, sauternes, sherry and rum. But it also brings together multiple mash bills, including the company’s high-malt bourbon, straight rye and straight wheat whiskey mash bills, all aged for a minimum of six years before a secondary maturation in each disparate style of finishing barrel. The final product–this is the second iteration of Cigar Cut–is then blended and released at 55.85% ABV (111.7 proof), and an MSRP of $130.
Suffice to say, that’s quite the preamble for this expression, with at least three different mash bills and four different cask finishes involved. Any blend with so many components and variables is going to be difficult to evaluate, and the fear will always be that its elements present as confused or muddled. Happily, however, this ends up not being the case with Old Elk Cigar Cut Island Blend.
So with that said, let’s get to tasting this limited edition expression.