The other Smooth Ambler whiskey from the bottle-share and the last post in the series for a bit. It’s an ‘Old Scout’ which means they sourced the whiskey elsewhere. In this case it’s a rye whiskey with 95% rye, and 5% malted barley to help kick-start fermentation.

Anyway, the one Rye whiskey in the current Bottle-Share. I feel there should have been more but in the end I couldn’t make up my mind and really didn’t want to skip any of the ones I picked.

I happened to discuss American whiskey with a friend recently (Thanks, Bas!). We came to the conclusion (mostly his) there is some really bad American whiskey, some absolutely stunning, but a lot of it is in a rather large gray area. An area where stuff is not very interesting. Of course, it’s a challenge to find the ones that stick out on top!

Smooth Ambler Rye, at Master of Malt

Sniff:
Spicy rye with a sweet background. Nutmeg and dry, dirty oak. Pink peppercorns and ginger. A delicious combination of intense flavours. What’s so admirable about this dram is that it’s blended in a way that it is not sharp on the nose at all.

Sip:
Here it’s spicy in a somewhat more sharper fashion. Pepper, dry oak and sweet spices. Ginger, allspice and rye. Rye in a way of rye whiskey, not necessarily rye grains or rye bread. Also some orange.

Swallow:
Here it still has that fruitiness of the orange. The finish does add a bit of leather to the mix of spices. It combines nicely to a warming mix of deliciousness.

Yup, this one sticks out. Absolutely lovely stuff, just as the Old Scout Bourbon, although that was a bit over hyped. This one was kept quiet, but does not disappoint at all! It has a lot of flavours and scents to keep things interesting, but it’s not as fierce or sharp as some others, so it’s smooth too. Lovely.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7yo Rye Whiskey, 49.5%, available at Master of Malt at £ 47.75