The whiskey scene was a lot different just a few years ago. Great bargains like Smooth Ambler Old Scout single barrels sat on the shelves all day long for $40-$45. I wasn't oblivious to how good we had it and I went through more than my fair share of them, particularly the cask strength ryes. It seems like everyone was in on it too though because by early 2015 Smooth Ambler had run out of almost all their MGP rye stock and pulled back to gift shop only releases for the few barrels they had remaining. With the help of a really nice internet friend I was lucky enough to get a bottle of the first limited release rye before it sold out in about an hour. I've been nursing it for almost 2 years now and after acquiring a sample of another limited release rye, I decided it was finally time to put it to rest.
Smooth Ambler Old Scout Limited Release Rye #214
Aged 10 years; 62.2% ABV; Barrel #214; Summer 2015 Gift Shop Release; Thanks to /u/Looney_Bin for the hookup
Nose: Sweet and spicy. Anise, menthol, lots of mint, woody caramel. Smells kind of like a barrel aged cask strength mint julep.
Taste: Dill, spearmint, anise, and more mint - a metric fuckton of spicy rye (and specifically MGP rye) flavors. On top of that the wood influence is so explosive - it's lush with wood caramels like sugar daddy candies but at the same time lots of older wood notes too. The dark cocoa sweet notes and prickly spice tingle ride the finish forever. It's nothing short of a sweet spicy wood bomb.
Thoughts: Easily the best MGP whiskey I've ever tasted, including bourbons and ryes. I was skeptical this could be much better than most of the cask strength 8 year single barrels I've had but boy was a wrong. I'd put this up there with Rathskeller Rye as the one of the best ryes of all time, namely because both of them are such a powerhouse of not only spice notes but also wood notes as well.
Rating: A / A+
Smooth Ambler Old Scout Limited Release Rye #2534
Aged 9 years; 57.5% ABV; Barrel #2534; Spring of 2016? Gift Shop Release; Thanks to /u/anagama for the sample
Nose: Sweet and spicy but a little more ethanol forward with less wood influence than the 10 year. Anise, menthol, mint, and sweet caramel.
Taste: Same backbone of notes as the 10 year but less spice, less wood influence, and more sweet forward. Sugary spicy wintergreen spearmint like mint gum and that sugar daddy candy caramel note is there again. The wood influence is toned down compared to the 10 year but definitely tastes its age. The finish is a heavier sweet lighter spice combo but doesn't last as long as the 10 year. Everything about it is spot on, it's just not as explosive as the 10 year.
Thoughts: This is much more in line with what I originally expected from the first release. It's about the same or marginally better than my memory of the 8 year single barrels I used to buy off the shelf. Having said that, MGP rye is fantastic stuff, especially at cask strength and this bottle is no exception. On the plus side it does have a little less dill than the 10 year which is a turnoff for some folks in regards to MGP rye whiskeys.
Rating: A-
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
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