Richardson loved the results, and figured he should just hire away the MGP master distiller to keep it going. Metze ultimately created custom bourbon, wheated bourbon and straight wheat mashbills for Old Elk. “That,” says Metze, “was the first time in my career I had the opportunity to build mashbills from the ground up.” He didn’t have a production facility of his own yet, but didn’t want the standard MGP mashbills, either. The founder and longtime CEO of Otter Products, maker of OtterBox phone covers, Richardson in 2013 wanted to start a new distillery in his hometown of Fort Collins. Once the juice left his hands, he largely lost track with what brands all over the country were doing with it. Regardless, Metze was making the same five mashbills he knew well, going back decades. Others were happy to take MGP-aged whiskies and just slap their own labels on it. Working there turned out to be the best training in the world, as for becoming a master distiller.”Īt MGP, some brands would buy un-aged, raw whiskey and finish it or blend it themselves. “Seagram’s was progressive, and pioneered a lot of the techniques widely in use today. “I was producing many products for many brands, but those products were all based on five Seagram’s mashbills,” he says. But it was the Seagram’s approach – and mashbills – that Metze learned from the beginning that continued to define how he approached the work. ![]() By that point the master distiller at MGP, Metze found himself overseeing whiskey-making at the largest contract distiller in the United States. The Seagram’s liquor business eventually went to Pernod Ricard, which went to LDI, which went to Diageo, which eventually went to MGP. “That was pretty darn cool.”įorty-two years later, says the now master distiller at Old Elk Distillery in Fort Collins, Colo., “it’s still pretty darn cool.” “The only thing I really knew is that I was 23 years old, and I was going to work for a whiskey company,” Metze says. He had no idea what somebody with a chemical engineering degree might do at a booze company, but he was willing to find out. One of the companies there was Seagram’s, the world’s largest producer and distributor of distilled spirits. Greg Metze was on the verge of graduation from University of Cincinnati in the spring of 1978, unsure what to do with the rest of his life, when he happened upon a campus job fair. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy links towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. The Sour Mash Reserve will be distributed by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and will be a limited release with just over 5,000 bottles in the first batch.Editor’s Note: These whiskeys were provided to us as review samples by Old Elk Distillery. The first batch was distilled in New York with a proprietary yeast blend. It is a lot-oriented expression using the familiar technique of sour mash. The sour mash technique promotes what’s described as ideal conditions for yeast to produce the best flavor. Each batch release contains only thirty barrels at a time, and the taste profile will vary slightly from batch to batch, making it exciting to search for each new release,” Old Elk’s CEO, Luis Gonzalez, added. ![]() “When we first decided to create Old Elk with our signature custom high-malt mash bill, we wanted to do something special, and as Kate says, ‘The magic is in the fermentation.’ We’re constantly exploring new expressions and knew that this is something extraordinary that will cause a stir among the whiskey community, especially those looking for variations in a small batch product. The Sour Mash Reserve is the latest in the lineup of whiskeys from Old Elk. ![]() We promise the Old Elk herd that this product is an extension of our innovative whiskeys with all the world-class quality aspects.” “Our distillers worked together to create a small-batch product extension that upholds the same standard our other award-winning whiskeys achieved. It is not well known, but it’s virtually impossible to replicate fermentation from one geographic location to another due to indigenous flora and fauna,” says Kate Douglas, Head Distiller at Old Elk Distillery, in a prepared statement. The beauty of this expression is the contrast in the flavor profile resulting from a change in yeast strain as well as the geographic location of the distillery. “As distillers, we know the magic is in the fermentation. Old Elk Sour Mash Reserve (image via Old Elk)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |