A Friday evening is always a good time for an unfamiliar bourbon. This evening is the Smooth Ambler Old Scout. A Tasty bourbon from the West Virginia Distillery.
Even though Smooth Ambler create a variety of spirits from scratch at the distillery, the Old Scout line is not that. The Old Scout bottlings are sourced whiskey, hence the name, the source whiskey was carefully scouted out. Some purists might moan about it not all being made in house, but they can keep that moaning to themselves! Smooth Ambler is one of those distilleries that does it right, and finds some terrific liquid. The Appalachian community spirit that the distillery is built around is just another ingredient that adds to a wonderful product. The community around them are really at the heart of this company, so producing a liquid that can make their small community shine world wide, is fantastic. I am a fan of a lot of liquids that come from distilleries all over the world, but I will always gravitate more frequently to distilleries like Smooth Ambler where when you hear them talk about their spirits, you know they truly care about what they put out!
Now they have a few different versions of Old Scout, but in front of me I have the 99 proof Straight Bourbon. The current mash bill of this one is 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. Aged around 5 years, with a high rye content, you are getting a very bold bourbon. They have done an exceptional job at sourcing this liquid. Oodles of butterscotch sweets, very warming with that rye spiciness, cloves, along with some wonderful earthy herbs.
Grab a bottle here if you are unfamiliar with Smooth Ambler as I was.