Up today is a pair of whiskeys from Smooth Ambler out of West Virginia. Like a lot of other startup distilleries, Smooth Ambler is on the “sell sourced whiskey until our own stuff comes of age” plan. While a lot startup distilleries and NDPs who sell sourced products make up ludicrous backstories or mask the fact that they source their whiskey, Smooth Ambler scores points with the community for being open and honest about where their products come from. What we have here is their younger batched bourbon from MGP’s higher rye (36%) mashbill and their older batched bourbon from MGP’s lower rye (21%) mashbill.
Smooth Ambler Old Scout
Aged 7 years; Batch No. 166 (2/3/2016); 49.5% ABV; $40
Nose: Vanilla and caramel along with a hefty cinnamon and mint spice component. It’s got the woodiness you’d expect for a bourbon its age and some remnants of ethanol though the heat is reasonable for the proof.
Taste: Really spicy right out of the gate with the spice riding out all the way to the finish. The mint and cinnamon of the nose are again the predominant notes. The standard vanilla and caramel bourbon notes are there as well but mostly take a backseat to the spice. In the finish some deeper sweet notes come like cacao and dark fudge come into play.
Thoughts: MGP makes great bourbon and Smooth Ambler has done a great job batching it here. This is about the closest thing to Four Roses Single Barrel you’ll find and that makes sense as they are both very high rye spicy bourbons and both share a family history in a shared yeast strain. I would give Four Roses Single Barrel the upper hand though as their standard OBSV line has everything this has along with some added complexity in terms of rich red fruit notes. Still though, it’s a nice spicy bourbon that’s readily available and there’s not really anything negative I can say about it.
Rating: B
Value: I don’t factor price into my ratings. At the $40 price I paid, I think I think this is a pretty decent value and I would buy it again.
Smooth Ambler Old Scout Ten
Aged 10 years; Batch No. 30 (3/9/2015); 50% ABV; $40
Nose: A lot less spicy and more sweet than the 7 year version. It breathes a lot softer with noticeably less ethanol which lets more caramel and other sweets like cake batter come through. I also get light fruit notes though the woodiness is a bit less than I expected.
Taste: Very much like the nose. Starts off soft with lots of sweet forward flavors - vanilla, cake batter, and honey. The sweetness rides pretty much to the end of the finish. At the mid-palate, some light spice starts to develop and comes through in the finish with some cinnamon tingle. A dry woodiness starts to come through towards the end of the palate and brings a nice depth of flavor to balance things out.
Thoughts: Another really nice bourbon produced by MGP and batched by Smooth Ambler. If the 7 year is a lot like Four Roses OBSV, this one is more like a Four Roses OESV Single Barrel. Again that makes a lot of sense since this about the same rye percentage as Four Roses lower rye recipes and they share a family yeast. While this is significantly different than 7 year, it’s pretty good in its own right as it’s softer sweetness, extra wood depth, and toned down spice make for an overall nice package.
Rating: B
Value: I don’t factor price into my ratings. At the $55 price I paid, I’m neutral on the value. In this price range I would go for a private selection Four Roses, cask strength single barrel of Smooth Ambler Old Scout, or Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel over this.
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