Freshly baked dinner roll | Pizza dough | Caramel | Ground nutmeg | Chinese cinnamon | Mixed dried fruit

Baking spices | Ground cinnamon | Baking spices | Dash of vanilla cream | Green peppercorn spice | Dried peach | Baked dinner roll | Aged oak

Baking spices | Light dough | Charred chewy oak | Green peppercorn spice | Lingering dry pie crust & heat

In May 2025, Middle West Spirits acquired Old Elk Distillery. Since that time, the Old Elk brand has continued with business as usual, with no new major releases coming to market. That changes with the release of the Old Elk 10-Year-Old Collection, which marks the first major new release for the brand under Middle West Spirits. The collection consists of two bourbons and a wheat whiskey, all contract-distilled from MGP and all aged for 10 years.

The sip opens with an aroma of dough, specifically a freshly baked dinner roll and pizza dough. Scents of ground nutmeg and Chinese cinnamon add structure, while caramel and mixed dried fruit add additional intrigue. Spice notes swirl together in the palate, with a baked dinner roll note carrying through the dough theme. Aged oak is prominent, serving as a reminder of the bourbon's age. The finish pulls in a lighter amount of spice and dough notes versus the midpoint, while charred chewy oak takes the majority of attention. The sip ends on a combination of dry pie crust and heat.

Old Elk 10 Year Wheated Bourbon is a dough-forward sip. While wheat whiskeys can focus on some of these flavor notes, usually they’re in a supporting role, not the main showcase. Compared to the Old Elk 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon, the Wheated Bourbon seems to be a step behind. The bourbon still offers wheated bourbon fans a good pour, but due to its over-indexing on dough, the whiskey is never fully able to live up to the expectations that one might expect for a 10 year old milestone release.