Caramel | Cherry | Sugar-glazed donut | White pepper

Sweet pasty bread | Cantaloupe | Sugarcane | Nougat | Vanilla | Buttery mouthfeel | Soft & sweet

Peppercorn | Malt | Light oak

“Proofing down” a whiskey is the process of adding water to a whiskey to lower its proof to a desired point. This is typically done quickly and matter-of-factly; as with most things, time is money. Old Elk believes there might be more to this proofing-down process. As we’ve seen when it comes to the creation of whiskey, every step matters, and changing how a step is done can directly affect how a whiskey tastes.

According to Old Elk, their trademarked “The Slow Cut” proofing process is meant to “preserve flavor by lengthening the standard proofing process to up to 10 times the normal industry length. To proof down alcohol, water is added until the liquid reaches the desired strength. However, according to Old Elk, this creates a heat liberating reaction, and when you add hundreds of gallons of water in a day or two, it ends up boiling off many of the lighter, finer flavors. Instead of a day, Old Elk spends weeks adding small increments of water to keep the liquid cool and save the delicate flavors produced during mashing, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.” The result is a softer-tasting whiskey, but how much of that is due to the whiskey’s 88 proof point is also up for consideration.

At this point, it’s worth noting that Old Elk has used a slower-than-typical proofing down process for their whiskeys. The addition of “Slow Cut” on this bourbon’s label is less of a new process they are now utilizing and more of drawing attention to a method they already use in a more apparent manner.

As such, Slow Cut Bourbon features a caramel-heavy and sweet-smelling aroma propped up by additional scents of cherry and sugar-glazed donuts with a dash of white pepper. It’s soft overall as it emanates from the glass, but there’s nothing noticeably different at this step. The palate has a buttery mouthfeel with notes of sweet pasty bread, cantaloupe, sugarcane, nougat, and vanilla. The finish is on the simple side but uses peppercorn, malt, and oak notes to a decent effect.

In an age dominated by barrel proof bourbons, the question arises: who is this for? It’s easy to forget that there is a large segment of bourbon drinkers who want approachable whiskey and would like to sip on bourbon without needing an ice cube. Given how sweet and approachable the flavors are in this bourbon, it will definitely appeal to a wide range of drinkers. But to answer if the Slow Cut process itself had a dramatic impact on the resulting bourbon, the answer is a cautious yes. The bourbon has a slightly different swagger. From its buttery mouthfeel to its noticeably rounded flavor consistency, something is going on that’s different, but is it enough to change the proofing down practice industry-wide? Likely not, but as an easy sipper and featuring a decent price point, it may find an audience nevertheless.