If you’ve been around the whiskey world for a few years, you’ve probably been pitched on the concept of an infinity bottle at some point. This is a basic, long-term project that a whiskey fan can explore, typically by using an empty decanter (but any bottle will do) to hold the last few ounces of various favorite bottles of bourbon, rye whiskey, etc. as they are finished. As more samples are added to the infinity bottle, it theoretically grows more complex, and as the bottle is consumed and replenished, it grows and evolves. It’s a chance for the average whiskey drinker to experiment with the art of blending, attempting to tailor the blend to a specific taste profile by adding a few ounces of this whiskey or that whiskey to the decanter to push it in a specific direction. The process also symbolically makes a liquid immortal—even if you created your infinity bottle a decade ago, some small traces of the first whiskey you ever added to the blend are still theoretically present, as long as the bottle was never fully emptied. An infinity bottle is therefore a poignant way to preserve a favorite whiskey forever.
Now, bringing the theory of an infinity bottle to an actual, commercial whiskey brand, on the other hand, is a rather more difficult endeavor, but Old Elk found a way when they created their Infinity Blend project in 2021. In its first year, the 2021 expression served as a foundation, being a blend of Old Elk’s own in-house distillate (high-malt 6-year bourbon) and well-aged Kentucky bourbon. It took until this year’s 2022 expression for the concept to really be complete, however, because this year’s blend features a significant portion of last year’s blend added in. In this way, future entries in the Old Elk Infinity Blend project will always contain some amount of the original liquid, and will theoretically get more and more complex as the years go by.
It’s a lovely idea, the brainchild of Master Distiller Greg Metze, well known for his decades as a bourbon maestro at MGP of Indiana. The Infinity Blend is a great way to both feature Old Elk’s own evolving stocks of rye and especially wheat whiskey, and add some extra heft with extra matured Kentucky bourbon. One wonders if perhaps a few years from now, the Old Elk whiskeys involved will be old enough that the company might be able to cut out the small Kentucky portion entirely, effectively symbolizing the company’s own maturity.
Regardless, here’s what is actually in the Old Elk 2022 Infinity Blend bottle.
— 18% Old Elk 2021 Infinity Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies
— 15% Old Elk Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged 7 years
— 52% Old Elk Wheat Whiskey, aged 7 years
— 9% Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged 13 years
— 6% Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged 12 years