Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel #27728

A steel gauntlet housing a silken hand in the form of the slightly daunting 59.6% Old Scout bourbon which actually lives up to the Smooth of its distillery's name. Admittedly it's all turps on the nose as you might expect but the taste is warming, complex spice and dusty mahogany which makes way for a phenomenal finish of fresh peas, port and cherry throat sweets. Colour of mountaineer's piss but I could happily enjoy a couple of fireside drams after a long day's ride through bread basket America.

Neat. Neck pour. I bought so much 5 year MGP last year. It was great to have Old Scout back on the MGP train but let’s be honest... 5 years on a MGP is not enough time. It has some great flavors but there is this inescapable grainy, green youngness. One of the latest OHLQ picks is 6 years, which makes it an interesting comparison. Amazing how much of a difference that extra year makes on the nose. The base flavors are the same as expected but the grainy, youthfulness is gone. Deep caramels, buttery pie crust, apple and cinnamon come out in waves. Slight hint of oak and leather. This one is a dark MGP. Syrupy mouthfeel gives immediate flavors of brown sugar, honey and cinnamon. Not as dark as I was expecting off the nose. Really hangs in these mid range notes. Buttered pecan pie. So buttery. Lots of caramel. Bit of apple. Tons of cinnamon on the finish. The honey is coming out more and more, a dark rich honey. Slight amount of grain on the finish, but no where near the 5 year in those terms. Very enjoyable and a great value at $50. So 7 years is probably the sweet spot where MGP starts becoming something great, but this 6 year was still a great purchase. So much flavor. The pecan pie with all this caramel drizzle and cinnamon really describes it well. A nice OHLQ offering.