soonershrink
Smooth Ambler Contradiction Rye
Rye — West Virginia , USA
Reviewed
October 14, 2021 (edited July 30, 2022)
First impression: This is really delicious. Sweet and fruity up front - citrus apple, caramel, with some subtler rye notes on the back end. More on the cinnamon-pepper-fruit than herbal notes. I don't get any dill here. The proof is just right. Great value at $37. Really well done blend of straight rye whiskies. I hope the rest of the bottle tastes like this neck pour.
Note, at roughly the same price as Pikesville, it has some stiff competition. Will have to do a side-by-side.
Update: side-by-side with Pikesville - this holds it's own. The Contradiction is fruitier, brighter. Pikesville has more caramel and woody depth. Neither shows an in-your-face herbal rye profile. Not sure I prefer either significantly over the other, which I think is high praise for this whiskey. I do prefer the depth of the Pikesville, but this is definitely a re-buy and likely regular rotation worthy.
Update 2: this has supplanted Pikesville as regularly stocked rye in my cabinet. The price has come down to just over 32$, so represents a better value around here. Also, Pikesville has become harder to find. The flavors are not particularly complex, but what's there is really well done.
37.0
USD
per
Bottle
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2nd bottle isn't quite as impressive as the first. I think it at least partially is due to having had some really outstanding whiskies recently, and maybe being on the tail end of a rye kick. Not a lot of complexity, but still tasty and a great value at 35ish bucks.
@Benji-Robert gracias
excellent writing AS ALWAYS, you just saved me $40+ next time I'm in a "rye mood", probably when it gets really cold soon
@dubz480 Will be curious to hear what you think.
@Ctrexman I have not tried the bourbon. I've been on a rye kick lately and as I prefer whiskies at or above 50% ABV, when this showed up on the shelf at a decent price, I thought it seemed worth a flyer. Glad I bit - I like it.
Have you tried the bourbon
I was just thinking about trying this one. Nice review and will have to grab it now!
This sounds pretty good Im just a little burnt out on rye right now
Sounds tasty. Feel like I recall the price on this being around $50. I would definitely jump on board <$40.