There are a lot of gimmicks out there in the whiskey world, vying for drinkers’ attention at any given time, but Old Elk Infinity Blend may well be one of my personal favorites. The concept here is poaching the general idea of a collector’s infinity bottle, or the more commercial use of a solera system, to create a whiskey release that theoretically should grow in complexity on a year-by-year basis. Now in its third year (the project began in 2021, and this “2023” release is just hitting shelves now), the base of each year’s Old Elk Infinity Blend release is … last year’s blend.
Now, handled with cynicism this could be little more than a gimmick–I can see a distillery putting out a product like this and just using 2% or so of the previous year’s release in the blend, for the sake of technicality. Old Elk and Master Distiller Greg Metze aren’t doing that, though–they’re making each past year’s Infinity Blend release a genuine, major component of the next year’s release, showing their forethought in setting enough aside to be able to do that. Another aspect I like here: Each year’s concept, outside of the returning distillate from a year earlier, is drilling in more and more on Old Elk’s rapidly maturing core product. As such, this is the first release in the series to be made without any new additions of sourced Kentucky bourbon–but theoretically, with the addition of each year’s prior Infinity Blend, they’ll always be present in slowly reducing percentages over the years. The 2023 batch, meanwhile, is made up of the following:
— 15.3% Old Elk 2022 Infinity Blend
— 40% Old Elk high malt bourbon aged 8 years
— 43.2% Old Elk straight wheat whiskey aged 7 years
— 1.5% Old Elk straight wheat whiskey aged 10 years
That package is then bottled at a robust 57.575% (111.15 proof). It all adds up to a moderate-to-high aged blend of various Old Elk bourbon and wheat-accented mash bills, and I’m looking forward to tasting it. So let’s get to it.
On the nose, this is all warm, gooey caramel and vanilla bean up front, with lots of candied citrus immediately accessible as well. It smells quite sweet and inviting, though there are hints there of the wheat whiskey in the blend–a little doughy malt and breadiness that begins to emerge once you’re looking for it. The effect is like toasted white bread with cinnamon sugar and orange marmalade, met by the richness of creme brulee. I’m also getting a faint, delicate pepperiness, while ethanol is fairly restrained for the proof point. The overall effect is pretty luxuriant and rich.
On the palate, the first thing one notes here is the really lovely, full mouthfeel, which brings a silky smooth texture to play. This is a flavorful eruption of warm caramel and especially juicy orange citrus, with traces of gingerbread and toasted malt syrup. Residual sweetness is moderate to high, giving this quite a decadent or luxurious feel, balanced somewhat by gentle cardamom earthiness and pepper spice, and gentle oak that is easily overlooked. It certainly hides its ABV well, and projects a sense of warm fuzziness, like a thick sweater. There’s a bit of the wheat whiskey breadiness here on the palate as well, but there’s enough maturity in the overall blend for the caramelized sugars to really steal the show. Overall, it’s a tad on the desserty side, but very satisfying.
What more is there to say? This is a really, really great release from Old Elk, continuing their ascension into one of the best “young” whiskey distilleries out there today. It’s a blending masterclass from Greg Metze, and it hints toward even better things as this company’s distillate continues to come of age. Old Elk is really hitting its stride right now, and it’s refreshing to see a $150 MSRP on a special release and actually agree that it feels reasonable for once. Would that more limited releases could say the same.
Distillery: Old Elk
City: Fort Collins, CO
Style: Blend of straight whiskeys
ABV: 57.575% (111.15 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $150 MSRP
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.