Smooth Ambler Old Scout 107 Proof American Whiskey

Liquor barn store pick - barrel #10330. Golden color. Nose upon popping the bottle was a little ethanol, leather and oak but with 10 minutes changed completely and resembles cherry coke, cinnamon and vanilla. The ethanol hangs around but not overwhelming. Thin and immediately spicy with chocolate covered cherries and a medium, warm finish. Second or third (maybe fourth now?) approach brings out some of the malty, floral MGP notes. I don’t get much oak or leather but maybe a bit of tobacco. For the price it’s not bad. Neither smooth or complex I don’t know that I’d buy again but not regrettable by any means. Leave the lips “buzzing” beyond the majority of the finish and might turn off a new neat bourbon drinker. For someone more into MGP, Dickel or KC this probably won’t disappoint. ————— Revisit - legs are pretty quick once they break free. Nose reminds me of pecan pie, sweet but ultimately nutty. There’s a noticeable singe but no aroma of alcohol. First sip was pecan pie with brown butter and gobs of sugar. Body is thin to medium but oily and brings about a wave of allspice and heat. The heat on the palate fades over a minute or so, leaving a nice warm KY hug I the chest and a mouthful of pecan pie again. It seems that from first few pours u til now the malt and chocolate cherries have gone more derby or pecan pie. The nuttiness isn’t something I expected to find. For what seems to be a 9y MGP + 5y Dickel blend I have to admit that this is a new profile for me. No clove, no vitamins and somehow nuts... might be that I chased Bourye (10+ year MGP bourbon-rye blend) with this, might be that one of the base whiskeys was matured in second-use barrels. Might be worth revisiting again soon!! Score is held back on account of the heat (not quite Bookers level) but great coating sensation and novel pecan pie flavors deserve a bump from 3 to at least 3.75 (if not 4 for the nutty novelty).

Saw this store pick at Pour Vous and for $35 I thought I’d check it out. The nose at first had some ethanol. But then letting it sit for 5mins the alcohol vapors move aside and allows vanilla, butterscotch, and some smokeyness to come through. The palate is semi sweet that has a lot of corn that jumps out. After the first sip, going back to the nose I get a lot more corn that wasn’t present before. The palate continues with a little bit of Barrel and leather. The finish has a little bite. And it’s on the dryer side. Adding about 5 drops of water this thing opens up really nicely. All of a sudden I get fruit on the nose. The palate is similar than before but I get some cherries this time. All in all, a really nice bottle and price, especially for a store pick. This is one of the rare times where I think I enjoyed something more with just a few drops of water.

A friend read somewhere that this was supposed to be MGP stock, so when I saw a bottle on my way out of the store, I figured I'd give it a go. Nose is very light, mostly ethanol aromatics with just a whiff of sweet. Given a few minutes, soft caramel shows up, but there's really not much happening. Palate starts just like the nose finishes; mild alcohol bite and creamy soft caramel. Sadly, it never really goes anywhere else, with just a touch of drying spiciness before finishing cleanly. It's very inoffensive. Very mild. Very neutral. Very unremarkable.

I’m tasting a hand select bottle (Barrel 12172). Nose is very nice, floral with oak, caramel, vanilla, maple and brown sugar, maybe some leather. Alcohol smell is a little strong but not overpowering. Palate, smooth up front and in the middle. Small punch in the back that lingers quite a while(107 Proof). Oak flavors, faint cherry, green apples. First taste, will report more later. Added one ice cube and it changed completely. It feels flat now. The nose is still very nice but the taste flattened out. I’ll try a few drops of water next time.

Barrel #14439- Bold maple and brown sugar smell on the nose. Heavy taste of sugar with hints of cherry gives it a sweet but yet smooth burn. Not a heavy burn on the finish but the taste lingers for a few minutes. Behaves more like a bourbon beginning to mature than a regular whiskey. Barrel #10502. Smell of honey and leather.Taste although smooth yet not quite mature, Honey dominant reminds me of a slight "Blade and Bow"flavor. Has some potential but not up to the standards of whiskey that you would pay 40 bucks for.

Single barrel pick from Total Wine. MGP and Dickel sourced juice. Butterscotch and ethanol on the nose. Dickel vitamin hits on the palate, with some fruit and a lot of gritty corn dominating as well. Drying heavy oak and heat on the finish. Not worth the price of entry, pretty disappointing all in all. Admittedly reasonably smooth for the proof, but I like some flavor in my bourbon not just a smooth way to injest alcohol (sorry not sorry).