Previous Elk Distillery, nested in Fort Collins, Colorado, was born from a imaginative and prescient of integrity, high quality, craftsmanship, and innovation. Based by Curt Richardson in 2013, it aspired to create a portfolio of whiskeys that transcended custom. The aim was bold—to construct legacy manufacturers and craft progressive, high quality merchandise.
In 2012, the staff at Previous Elk requested grasp distiller Greg Metze to craft and produce customized whiskey mash payments particularly for them after his 24-year odyssey at Seagram’s Distillery, “I subsequently joined Previous Elk in 2016,” shares Metze, “We’ve got created a really good portfolio of merchandise supposed to fulfill and entice our shoppers. We’ve got our core 4 classes of whiskey which are fairly distinctive and totally different from all others. Excessive Malted Barley Bourbon, Wheat Bourbon, Wheat Whiskey and Rye Whiskey—we then complement these with our Grasp Collection blends and our distinctive Cask End program.” We requested Metze to inform us extra.
Inform us a bit about your background within the business.
I began my profession in June of 1978 after finishing my Chemical Engineering Diploma on the College of Cincinnati. I joined Seagram’s Distillery situated in Lawrenceburg, Indiana to start what turned a 24-year coaching program to develop into a Grasp Distiller. To at the present time, I contemplate that coaching to be the most effective on this planet. Over the course of my 38-year profession on the Lawrenceburg distillery, I migrated from a producer of Seagram Model merchandise solely to the world’s largest contract distiller. I met Previous Elk in 2012 once they ask me to craft and produce customized whiskey mash invoice’s particularly for them. I subsequently joined Previous Elk in June of 2016 as a advisor and have become a full-time worker as their Grasp Distiller in March of 2017.
Discuss to us about Previous Elk- its historical past and heritage.
Rooted in innovation, high quality, craftsmanship, and integrity. Richardson desired to create a particular portfolio of whiskeys that embodied his ardour for whiskey, to construct legacy manufacturers and to make progressive, high quality merchandise.
Right now, Previous Elk is on the market nationwide and has been given a number of prestigious awards in numerous spirits competitions. We goal to proceed to innovate and lift the bar inside our whiskies by creating merchandise inside the model’s numerous ranges.
What would you want bartenders to find out about your spirits?
Previous Elk is rooted in distinctive mash payments. The mash invoice performs a significant position within the taste profile of the completed product in addition to defining the class of spirit produced. Every cereal grain has a singular taste attribute that it imparts into the spirit. When selecting the mash invoice, you’ve got an open palette to create distinctive flavors by various the sort and mixture of grains. The fermentation course of, kind of yeast used and maturation additionally contribute considerably to the flavour profile of the completed product.
Inform us concerning the infinity mix for gifting. What ought to bartenders know?
The Infinity Mix is a part of my Grasp’s Mix collection, the place every launch within the collection is a restricted version, bottled at excessive proof and introduced in a customized bottle. It’s a distinctive alternative to showcase my work and the way it modifications 12 months after 12 months, hand-selecting Previous Elk classics together with final 12 months’s Infinity Mix, our Excessive-Malt Bourbon aged 8 years, the 7-year-old Previous Elk Straight Wheat Whiskey, and Previous Elk Straight Wheat Whiskey aged 10 years.
Manufacturers are innovating to draw a brand new era of whiskey followers. Inform us extra.
Innovation and the most effective product high quality attainable are what shoppers are in search of most nowadays. Previous Elk is constructed on these 2 easy ideas. We obtain innovation by way of our distinctive mash payments, blends and cask end and all the time hit the standard marks due to our expertise, information, and a spotlight to element.
