Smooth Ambler Old Scout Straight Bourbon (NAS)

This is readily available by me in North Florida, but I never bit on the Smooth Ambler stuff (always assumed it was a little pricey for sourced bourbon). But maybe I was missing out. It was on clearance today for $27 (about $5-7 off), and I think this could make the case to be the ultimate daily sipper if I can steadily find it at $30. Fruit notes, floral, and enough complexity going on to make me think I'm drinking a $45-$50 bourbon. Nose (0-2): Confectionary sugar, roasted almonds, a little maple syrup along with honeysuckle, and an eathy tobacco note. (1.5 out of 2...well above average and just extremely pleasant) Taste (0-4): Traditional caramel up front, but it evolves into rich strawberry jam, raw honey, and cherry-flavored pipe tobacco. Starts off softly and kicks into a full -flavored bourbon. (2.75 out of 4) Finish (0-1): Easy, with enough oaky notes and some cinnamon spice to add some drama to the end of this drink. No big rye notes, but the high-rye mash bill provides the right amount of spice. Mellow and sugary Pops! cereal at the end as well. (0.5) Cohesiveness/Complexity (0-1): It hits both cohesiveness and complexity. The drinks unfolds perfectly and gives you enough drama throughout if you want to focus on it and try to pick out flavors, but it's also straight-forward enough to just sit down and enjoy with a movie without thinking too much (1 out of 1). So it's 5.75 out of 8 at $30ish (less than that for me). Tough to beat. Value (0-2): This is a realllly good bourbon that offers up some versatility at a slightly-below average price. This is excellent value. (2 out of 2). Overall: 7.75. I don't often get above a 7-7.5 on my scale, so this is impressive. Excited to see what else Smooth Ambler is doing after trying this bourbon, and might need to add another bottle at its price. My scale: 10 is an elite value for the price...8-9 is a must-buy and great value. ...7 is a very good value for what you're paying. ...6 is above average value. ...5 is average. ....4 below average. ...2-3 is poor value. ...0-1 is NEVER BUY.

The return of SAOS, still MGP sourced with no age statement but supposed to contain 5 year juice. On to the review: Pretty weak nose, with some creamed corn, pipe tobacco, and vanilla through a thin layer of alcohol. Not particularly inviting, but not off-putting either. Palate opens with caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch. Good things are happening...wait...what's that in the mid-palate? Yikes! An astringent, earthy mint and pencil shavings that wipes out the initial sweet flavors entirely. Finishes with cinnamon and burnt oak trailing off into a kind of bittersweet chocolate which is nice. Finish is short. Mouthfeel is neither chewy nor watery, and is appropriate for the proof. Overall this is a weird one because it starts well and ends well, but the mid-palate experience ruined it for me. Maybe it's the young age coming through or maybe it's always this earthy at any age, but I found it to be very unbalanced and overall not my jam. Hard to recommend at $43

Easy drinking, and nice viscosity. Not particularly complex or interesting. Edit: Adding a bit of water changes this whisky quite a bit. More oakiness, herbaceous, ripe fruit that fades into mild caramel. Like a red apple dipped in caramel, but subdued. It feels hotter with water, which is strange, but it does liven it up. A little bit of pepper on the nose and in the arrival. Waxy, and mild cinnamon on the nose and entering the midpalate. Ripe, juicy pear in the finish. Finish is decently long, opens with herbal notes, slides into fruit. Overall far better and more interesting with just a few drops of water. 3 stars straight, and just under 4 with water.

I had high hopes for this one non-chill filter equals flavor?…. This certainly has flavor on the noise I get buttered bread and a hint of spice maybe nutmeg or clove. After taking a sip I get a little more traditional flavors of vanilla and caramel. On the palate I get sweetness up from which quickly turns into baking spices, there is also a cherry cough drop or cough syrup note leading into the finish. There is a lot of spice and not much else on the finish no really oak to speak of, just a nice warm Kentucky hug. Overall not a bad pour for the money better then some $50 bottles I’ve had.

Well. They're not wrong. It's obvious that it's MGP juice... Which isn't a bad thing at all. Caramel, vanilla, a hint of pear or green apple and a nice dose of toasted oak. There are some herbal undertones in there as well... A bit of alfalfa or clover perhaps... It reminds me of an early morning walk through pastures in late spring. Mostly sweeth throughout, it yields a bit to some spice and wood, mid-palate. Medium finish shows some notes of cacao and leather. Although nothing special, it is superbly drinkable and an excellent value.

This was my first Smooth Ambler experience. This one was a bit of a disappointment for me. It’s not that the taste is bad. The problem is that as quick as you taste the Old Scout it leaves you. Then you have the left over alcohol feel of a young drink. There are to many other drinks at this price point that give better results.