Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Smooth Ambler Old Scout Showdown (MGP 5)

MPG is one of the largest US distillers doing all sorts of spirits, from vodka to rye to bourbon. https://en.wikipedia … /wiki/MGP_of_Indiana. Today we’ll look at a trio of 5 year old single cask picks from their stock bottled under Smooth Ambler Old Scout label.

Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Smooth Ambler Old Scout K&L Pick #23786
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1476110
Nose: Perfume, light wood and burnt sugar. The nose leans towards lighter cologne notes on this one. The usual slightly sour note that’s typical of bourbons is there in pleasant form. In this case… I’ll say plum jam with these bottles.
Taste: Light, sweet, woody, spicy, fading into savory. Really delicious and balanced to the razor’s edge of perfection. A slightly tannic bitterness sets in after some time in the glass that sticks around.
Aftertaste: Very much in-line with the palate flavors. Nothing overwhelms and all those flavors last for a while.
Overall: Fantastic, easy drinking. This is a well-concentrated bourbon that at the same time feels light and full of perfume. It is extremely balanced and enjoyable anytime.
Score: A-

Smooth Ambler Old Scout PlumpJack Pick
https://plumpjackwin … gth-high-rye-bourbon
Nose: Cologne and wood galore. Nosing it side by side with KnL’s sample… I’d almost describe the above as delicate and this one as bold. Less sugar, more wood and spice. Darker, more caramel forward, still some plum jam in there.
Taste: Tons of wood and leather, still sugar and spices of course, it wouldn’t be a bourbon otherwise. Still pleasant, but this one is much punchier in comparison, as expected from the nose. There’s much more wood on this one.
Aftertaste: Wood and spices; wood and spices. Long and pleasant… Very even across the entire time, nothing fades of overwhelms… of that wood and spice notes and toasted sugary caramel.
Overall: Another fantastic barrel pick. Both of these are great examples of high rye excellent stock picks. This one is woodier and has more cologne on the nose and mouth vs the K&L example while still maintaining most of the same base notes. The balance is quite different here and it focuses on different note dominance which is perfectly fine as it would fare quite well depending on the pairing, in the same way that different types of pinot pair up with different foods.
Score: A-

Final word:
It’s a TIE! Let’s be honest, these are fantastic. Both barrels are from the same MGP 5 year stock and yet they both have their own unique character. I initially gave both an A- score and then I kept on wondering on why give them a minus and honestly, I have no reasons to grade them so. Both are great. In many ways I judge bottles on whether or not I’d want to get another bottle of it and the answer here, I already did and that’s for me the highest compliment that I can provide. You may wonder, which one is better? Well the answer is ‘neither’… they’re both good in their own subtle way. PlumpJack pick has that heavy wood and spice punchiness that’s great with colder weather, campfires, BBQ and steaks. KnL pick is providing that razor’s edge of flavor balance that’s somewhat different experience that is also fantastic on its own and neither one is lacking in anything that I can judge against them. If these are the only two bourbons I’d get to drink ever again… I’d be mostly satisfied as neither have any flaws that I can detect.