I’ve always been a bit lukewarm on MGP bourbon, especially the 10 years I’ve tried, and had only tried Smooth Ambler’s own distillate before but with the Old Scout straight bourbon going away a friend told me I had to try it so I cashed in on a relationship with a local shop owner to get a bottle at retail. I will admit that I was tempted to trade it away but I stayed strong and cracked it as soon I got home. Let’s see if that was the right choice!
Smooth Ambler Old Scout
Age: 10 years
Abv: 119.6 proof
Color: A deep, darker amber
Price: $69.99
Barrel #: 4122
Picked by: Sarah
Bottled on: 11/28/2016
Neat
Nose: Rich brown sugar, strong vanilla and subtler warm baking spice notes come through with just a hint of oak,
Taste: More brown sugar and vanilla notes up front with sweet cherries and baking spice near the end. The mouthfeel is excellent!
Finish: The cherry and warm spice notes linger for some time before a hotter almost cinnamon note comes in this very long finish.
On a rock
Nose: The ice toned down the sweetness while bringing out some more of the spice notes leading a balance of vanilla and warm spice.
Taste: The mouthfeel on ice is probably the best I’ve had. It’s silky and viscous and coats the inside of your mouth with the wonderful notes. The ice again lessens the sweetness and brings the cherry and an oak note out.
Finish: Unfortunately much shorter but without that twinge of cinnamon heat. Medium length with cherry and spice notes.
Conclusion
Wow! That was excellent. It reminds me of Old Rip Van Winkle in all the right ways even if it doesn’t quite get to that level. It drinks significantly below it’s proof so much so that when I drank some straight after getting home, before reading the whole label, I thought this was closer to 100 proof which led to a pleasant evening :) The only thing keeping it out of the 10 bucket was that slightly unpleasant twinge of cinnamon and heat at the end. I know some folks like that but it just isn’t for me. Overall I’d definitely buy another bottle or 5 at near retail if I ever get the chance.
On another note I can finally understand some of the hype around MGP bourbon after this guy!
4 Stars - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite
Scale
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