Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon 11 Year

Nose- The rye comes through immediately. Cinnamon and dark chocolate. Body- Very easy to drink but punches the shit out of your tongue I guess, in a good way. Finish- Mint and black pepper finish you off. Note- Recommended by John Hirsh who we met at the bar. Note- This was actually the twelve year. I had it at Bluegrass Tabern in Lexington KY.

This was an impulse purchase at DC's Washington Wine & Spirits, for about $85. My 11-year old single barrel is 50.9%, quite low for a cask strength spirit. Smooth Ambler doesn't actually distill this, they select choice barrels from MGP, the massive distillery that is the source of many craft bourbons. Well-selected MGP barrels exhibit a remarkably well-balanced nose, and this is no exception. Toasted oak, bananas foster, and strawberry milkshake. So much oak. The oak that threatened to overwhelm on the nose aggressively assaults on the tongue on the first few sips. This is a dry, spicy, piquant bourbon, and may be a year or so overaged because those oak spices are intense and almost minty on some sips. This bourbon features a dry, woody end, perhaps to the extreme. That wood unfortunately excludes some of the sweeter notes that I'd like to find, instead leaning toward an almost medicinal quality, reminiscent strangely of some Islay scotches like Laphroaig. A hint of black coffee lends more complexity to this dram after a minute or so. I'd opt for almost any Four Roses Private Selection over Old Scout at this price.