Smooth Ambler

[Yeti]

This weekend members of the Appalachian Whiskey Society hit the road to Maxwelton, WV right outside of Lewisburg to tour the Smooth Ambler distillery.

It was an absolutely beautiful November day, perfect for traveling and perfect for drinking. We parked on the modest sized lot and entered through the breezeway on the front of the building directly into the tasting room.

Behind the bar we found John Foster, Brand Ambassador, pouring sample shots and mixing cocktails. An Old Scout with Ginger was the perfect way to start the rather warm day. They pour Old Scout, Old Scout Rye, the new Old Scout Ten, Yearling, Gin, Barrel Aged Gin, and Vodka. A seriously robust group of offerings for such a small shop. If Buffalo Trace is listening maybe they could pour a few more expressions from their endless portfolio in Frankfort.

The tasting room quickly filled with last second additions for the 2pm tour and John Foster, cocktail in hand, led the way into the cook room.

The grains are ground here before being cooked and dumped into one of the four 3200 liter fermentation tanks. Currently a sweet mash process is employed, but Master Distiller John Little claims that to his palate the only difference between the sweet mash and sour mash process is the increased cost of the former. Look for future expansions of the Smooth Ambler distillery to result in the incorporation of a sour mash process. The multiple stills provide the flexibility required for the varied spirits produced, with the "Carl" hybrid still being the original still used. As you would expect whiskies are twice distilled, with vodka receiving a third run, and their gin products going through four distillations.

In addition to their core product line they also stay busy putting down experimental spirits. Sometimes out of necessity (distilling single malt once they've run out of corn) and sometimes from a more creative impulse (a triple-malt whiskey from corn, malted rye, malted wheat, and malted barley).

After getting a very fun and thorough rundown of the distillation process, including an extended discussion of the processes regarding the head and tail cuts, and the various impurities left in and excluded, we stepped into the new bottling room.

The bottling was done completely by hand until very recently. The new line has expedited the process tremendously. I believe they said 9,000 bottles have come off the line in a 3-week time. I may have the numbers slightly off, but I know it was close to that. While the process is now automated, each bottle is still inspected by hand and signed, batched, and dated before being packed for shipment.

Heading out of the bottling line to the rear of the property you can see the two rickhouses storing the real star of the show, the variety of aging whiskies on hand. The first rickhouse we visited is used to store Old Scout stock. All Old Scout stock is distilled from Seagram's/LDI/MGPI (depending on how far back you look) and there are three mashbills spread among the various Old Scout lines. The traditional 21% rye Seagram's bourbon recipe is used for the Very Old Scout line, as well as the newly introduced Old Scout Ten. The 36% rye bourbon recipe is used for the standard Old Scout bourbon which was introduced at 5 years old and now ships at 7 years. The ubiquitous "LDI rye" 95/5 recipe is used for the Old Scout rye bottling. Additionally, these are the products that Smooth Ambler offers for private barrel selections as well as private labels like K&L Faultline.

They have started a relationship with the Independent Stave Company for their barrels. All Smooth Ambler barrel aged products are aged in 53 gallon barrels. Current and future production will be aged in ISC barrels that are made from 18 month yard aged oak with a #4 char. SA has been selected for an experimental partnership with ISC to age spirit in casks with unique characteristics.

Edited November 4, 2013 by Yeti

[Yeti]

Next we entered the Smooth Ambler spirit rickhouse containing only the spirits distilled on site in Maxwelton. A quick overview of the room counted approximately 635 barrels, the oldest of which date to April of 2010. This means we should be seeing the first mature Smooth Ambler bourbons in the summer or fall of 2015. It was shared that Larry Ebersold had consulted on the distillation process some time ago and had made some suggestions that resulted in a more flavorful spirit. While the wait is always the hardest part, seeing the new cooperage and discussing some of the changes they've made to their spirit cuts in the last 18 months I think the Smooth Ambler bourbon that comes to market at the end of this decade is going to blow people away.

In addition to the wheated bourbons that fill most of the room, there are dozens of experimental casks and other products, like wheat whiskey, the triple-malt whiskey, and a product labeled 50/50. 50/50 is a no-corn whiskey comprised of equal parts rye and wheat. I was able to taste a sample of this product, and I honestly think that when this comes to market in several years it will be a cult-hit in the same vein as the AE rye, and possibly the new Bowman Gingerbread. It was barely over a year old but already had a wonderful nose of 100% pure maple syrup and a delicious spicy and creamy flavor. In the back of the building are the oldest barrels filled at Smooth Ambler. There is a single rack of re-fills that contain the original small-cask whiskies that have been moved into full size barrels. Next to that are some of the first run of full barrels, one of which is currently being held together by a ratchet strap - a fix that John Foster assured me was proposed by NASA.

Also of note is that no spirits are watered before barrel entry, so entry proof varies for each barrel. It was said that they prefer a relatively lower entry proof from 110-115 or so.

The weather in the Greenbrier valley differs tremendously from surrounding areas, including KY, and results in a tremendous amount of humidity. The temperature can swing dozens of degrees back and forth regularly, which is excellent for the maturation process, but causes the barrels to sweat and oxidize the hoops and metal fittings on the older barrels.

Smooth Ambler is definitely benefitting from the boom of the bourbon industry, but have also taken all of the right steps to ensure a position as one of the leaders in craft spirits in the US. Creating high quality spirits that can go straight to market, as well as utilizing NDP techniques with the Old Scout line, have allowed them to focus on creating both a brand identity and their own proper American whiskey. There are no corners cut in bringing the proper Smooth Ambler bourbon to market and I'm very impressed with that, and as a West Virginian, proud to have the product being produced here. The crew takes their Old Scout line very seriously and will continue to introduce new product lines, including new single barrel bourbon and rye products, as well as some exciting and unexpected additions to the Very Old Scout line that I won't mention yet.

Lewisburg, WV, about 5 miles down the road, was recently voted the coolest small town in America. If you find yourself between the Virginias, you will not regret spending some time in Lewisburg, finding some unique farm-to-table dining, visiting the Greenbrier resort, enjoying the beautiful countryside, and stopping by for a tour and tasting at Smooth Ambler distillery.

Edited November 4, 2013 by Yeti

[smknjoe]

Really cool Josh. Thanks for posting. Lewisburg is a beautiful area (as is all of WVa. in my opinion.) I need to take a trip back out there sometime and see the distillery.

[wmpevans]

Super photos and great post Josh. Smooth Ambler is releasing some really good products.

Impressive. Their future looks bright, and that's good for all of us.

[Tony Santana]

Looks like a great trip, Josh. If those first couple of pictures are an indication, you even had a beautiful day for it.

So, can I gather from your post that when SA starts cranking out their own mature bourbon, the primary product will be a wheater? Did you get a chance to try the Yearling? Thoughts?

Nice tease re the VOS line, by the way.

[Yeti]

the primary product will be a wheater?

That's correct. I obviously can't speak for them as, to my knowledge, the final decisions haven't been made, but I can guarantee you that it will be un-chill-filtered and in excess of 90 proof. The location is bonded, John Little has been the Master Distiller from the beginning, and the original stock will turn 4 years old in April of next year, so I'd love to see 50% abv hit those bottles. That's completely wishful speculation though, nothing regarding a bonded whiskey was mentioned at all.

I did not try the Yearling, but I was able to taste two 18 month samples that would be similar in experience to the Yearling. My only experience with the Yearling was nearly two years ago and I did not enjoy it. That could be the result of many factors, not the least of which was my limited experience with diverse whiskies and a lack of understanding and proper expectation. Visiting with the two 18 month samples, provided to show a distinction between the original spirit cuts and the cuts suggested by Larry Ebersold, I was extremely impressed with the latter. Both were quite good. The original cut showed a lot of early development on the nose, but had an expected greenness on the palate. The 2nd pour had tremendous promise and was very mature and integrated for such a young age. It occurs to me that I should revisit an off-the-shelf Yearling soon and update my opinion for better or worse.

[WAINWRIGHT]

Thanks for sharing such an in depth and thorough experience.I often shy away from such distilleries,but with the quality of products they have currently and their general openness I will continue to buy their products now as well as in the future.I really like to see that they are doing everything right and am excited to try their future distilled product and I wish them well with all of their ventures.Great time line BTW and the photography is nothing short of stellar as usual,it really added to the experience.I had only wished I could have been there myself.

[ISU_grad]

Nice write up, I was tempted to stop there in June on my last road trip, but my wife really wanted to get home. Looks like I missed out.

[HighHorse]

Great tour for us, Josh! I only recently had a pour of 100 proof SAOS bourbon and was mightily impressed. I picked up a bottle of the rye over the weekend and stopped at a little store that rarely has anything on the way back from lunch today and stumbled on a single bottle of SAOS 100 yr old bottled in bond 14 year old. $69 seemed a fair price. Good to get a tour via your post!

[mbroo5880i]

Yes, thanks Josh! Great tour and photos!

[squire]

Great write up Josh, thanks for the tour.

[MyOldKyDram]

Sounds like an absolutely amazing time. And your pics are always beyond fantastic. Thanks for sharing buddy!

[Vosgar]

Great post Josh. I'm sensing another whisk(e)y blogger on the horizon.

[HighHorse]

Walked into a store today and spotted a single bottle of SAOS up on the top shelf. Clerk got a ladder and pulled down for me and was plesantly surprised to find a 14YO BIB. All I had seen around prior were 7YO. Also picked up a bottle of their rye this weekend. Very impressed with what these folks are doing.

[ChainWhip]

Thanks Josh for the great writeup and photos - I can feel the vibe of the tour through your expressions here... I'll be keeping an eye out for their products.

[Happyhour24x7]

Great write up. Personal point of interest- in your picture in the rick house showing several racks of barrels, if you look closely on the upper right barrel that is fully in frame, it says " filled by jeremiah ". That's me! Filled it and a couple more on my last visit down there. Glas you enjoyed the visit, I love the Smooth Ambler guys. And nice heads up on a VOS development.

[Yeti]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read through my post. I was a little concerned I was going to forget some of the details after some "product research" that followed the tour.

Great tour for us, Josh! I only recently had a pour of 100 proof SAOS bourbon and was mightily impressed. I picked up a bottle of the rye over the weekend and stopped at a little store that rarely has anything on the way back from lunch today and stumbled on a single bottle of SAOS 100 yr old bottled in bond 14 year old. $69 seemed a fair price. Good to get a tour via your post!

That's a perfectly fair price. I believe the Master Distiller said this was his favorite Old Scout release of all, and it's certainly a delicious whiskey that is hard to come by.

Great post Josh. I'm sensing another whisk(e)y blogger on the horizon.

I've got enough work to do the way it is. I need to look into drinking & dictation. Hey, now that I think about it that could be some really valuable software. No more drunk texting, America! Just let Siri interpret for you.

Great write up. Personal point of interest- in your picture in the rick house showing several racks of barrels, if you look closely on the upper right barrel that is fully in frame, it says " filled by jeremiah ". That's me! Filled it and a couple more on my last visit down there. Glas you enjoyed the visit, I love the Smooth Ambler guys. And nice heads up on a VOS development.

Very cool! And nice eye spotting that.

[cowdery]

Great job, Josh. I enjoyed the detail. I like the fact that distillery equipment tends to be custom, not off-the-shelf. Having the customer's name deeply engraved into the brass is a nice touch. I'm glad you picked up on that.

Good choice of subject too. The Smooth Ambler guys are a great group committed to doing it the right way.

Edited November 5, 2013 by cowdery

[Paddy]

Thank you Josh for the awesome work. Beautiful place and awesome photos! They are doing it right (and if you don't get right your gonna get left).

[theglobalguy]

Great photos Josh, felt like i was there. Appreciate how open they are with guests.

[TunnelTiger]

Totally cool presentation Josh. Realy enjoyed it.

[birdman1099]

Great Thread Josh.... Very informative. Thanks.

[RVTsteve]

thanks for the tour! great photos. I'll have a pour of the 19yr to participate.

[FlounderinDC]

Great pictures and insightful write-up. Thanks for sharing.

[bllygthrd]

Josh

Great write up and photos ... wish I could have been there ... I look forward to your next event!

Terry