Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey

About the Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey

Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey is a blended American whisky from the United States. The blending happens in the Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia. Two whiskies go into the bottle, both distilled from bourbon mash bills. One rested in new oak barrels. The other spent its life in re-charred bourbon casks. That second cask type keeps the label off bourbon, so the bottling goes out as American whisky at 49.5%. Smooth Ambler was founded in West Virginia in 2009. The company runs its own stills, yet its reputation grew from a second habit. Buyers hunt down finished casks from other American distilleries, then blend them at home in Greenbrier. Old Scout is the name that range carries. Choosing barrels well is a craft of its own. It asks for patience and a good palate rather than a big still house. The nose leads with cinnamon and rye spice. Behind that sits vanilla, sweet corn and a cool menthol lift. A floral note drifts through as the glass sits. The palate turns sweeter and rounder. Vanilla and corn carry apple and other fresh fruit along with them. Then the finish tightens up. Burnt sugar and caramel give way to wood, char and a last flicker of cinnamon. Bourbon rules demand new oak and nothing else. Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey steps outside that line by design. Part of the blend comes from casks that were re-charred rather than new. Wood that has already given up its sweetest layers pushes the spirit in a different direction. The result leans drier and spicier than a straight bourbon of the same strength. Nothing is chill filtered, so the texture stays full at 49.5%.