SAOS7 and SAOS10 production suspended

[Fort Knox]

According to John Foster, production of SAOS7 and SAOS10 is being suspended, effective immediately.  They're just running way too low on available aged stocks and haven't been able to replace it at a decent price.  So they're suspending production until further notice.  Availability of SAOSSB, Contradiction, and the new American Whiskey should still be ok.

 

While I definitely appreciate the transparency that John and John Little operate with, this really bums me out, since SAOS7 is the only Smooth Ambler product currently available in NC, other than some old stock of Contradiction maybe, if it's still around.  I can't say enough good things about how these guys run their operation.  They're straight shooters, and they put out great products.

 

Looks like I'm gonna go on a bunker building trip tomorrow!

Edited September 10, 2016 by Fort Knox

[amg]

If it's anything like their suspension of the rye it will still be lingering on shelves a year or more in the future.

[Fort Knox]

True, but I've only seen the rye on the shelf in a store once in the last 2 years, and that was on a trip to Louisville.  I'd prefer that my daily drinker not be quite that difficult to obtain, but I'm sure I'll find a way to live on the bourbon that is available.

[flahute]

The interesting takeaway here is that either MGP stocks are running low, or, that they are charging more for what they have due to higher demand which means we will be subject to more NDP's with crappy stories and higher prices. 

[Kepler]

6 minutes ago, flahute said:

 which means we will be subject to more NDP's with crappy stories and higher prices. 

Which is one reason why I generally don't purchase NDP stuff.  I do really enjoy Michter's barrel proof rye and some of the SAOS single barrel bourbons.  But I can live without them if they start to show instability. Too many other great choices from actual distillers.

[amg]

8 hours ago, flahute said:

The interesting takeaway here is that either MGP stocks are running low, or, that they are charging more for what they have due to higher demand which means we will be subject to more NDP's with crappy stories and higher prices. 

Could also be that Smooth Ambler didn't anticipate the current demand back when they contracted the stock that is now mature enough for bottling.

[maybeling]

Here is the text of a post on Facebook today from SA:

Quote

 

To all of our friends and fans in the Smooth Ambler family,

Due to the rapid and unanticipated growth we’ve experienced in the last six months, the time has come to make some hard decisions about the future of our merchant-bottled bourbon business. Years of sustained and aggressive efforts to acquire the barrels necessary to replenish our bourbon inventory, and/or to do so in a way where an interruption in supply could be avoided, have yielded no favorable results. For this reason, effective immediately, we are suspending the Old Scout 99 Proof and Old Scout Ten items in our portfolio. Old Scout Single Barrel, Contradiction, and Old Scout American Whiskey will remain available.

This fall we plan to release our 100% house-made Smooth Ambler Wheated Bourbon, a special bottling of Revelation Rum finished in Rye Casks, and more Limited Edition Old Scout Rye. Additionally, we look forward to introducing a custom Old Scout American Whiskey option in the very near future.

Rest assured, we have healthy stores of younger sourced whiskey currently maturing in 3 rickhouses, with 4 more under construction. When that merchant-bottled whiskey comes of an age worthy of the quality and flavor you’ve come to expect from Old Scout, we will proudly make it available.

All of us at Smooth Ambler appreciate your support - and your business – more than you know.

The SAS Crew

 

 

Re: this statement - "...more Limited Edition Old Scout Rye", do you think that is referring to the gift shop only rye that released? Or is there a possibility of more SB ryes becoming available?

 

[amg]

4 hours ago, maybeling said:

Here is the text of a post on Facebook today from SA:

 

Re: this statement - "...more Limited Edition Old Scout Rye", do you think that is referring to the gift shop only rye that released? Or is there a possibility of more SB ryes becoming available?

 

 

The gift shop only releases have said 'Limited Edition' on them, so I'm guessing it will just be gift shop but would love to be wrong.

[beasled]

We had some 'limited edition' 9 year SB rye appear and disappear at Master of Malt in the UK in the past few weeks. First time I've seen 'limited edition' on the label. 

[mbroo5880i]

There is still a fair amount of 7 year rye and 10 year bourbon on the shelves.  I will be honest that while I love SOAS SB both rye and bourbon, I really haven't found a 10 year that I found to be worth the price.  Not sure why.  I do like the 7 year.  I have had 10 year WFE from MGP that I enjoyed.  My sweet spot tends to be in the 7-9 year range.

[jp_stargazer]

I read this on a shared post to the Bourbonr Facebook group.  My immediate thought was "run out and buy all the bourbonzzz!!!" but then I started to rethink it.  I am sitting on enough of the regular Old Scout bourbon (referred to as 7 years old but has been increasing as stock ages) so I'm good there.  Then I tried my opened bottle of the Old Scout Ten (not to be confused with another bourbon bottling that is also 10 years old) and confirmed my previous recollection.  The OS Ten is a great bourbon but it sells for the same $50-$55 price point as the Old Scout SB bottles, also in the 10 year age range, which I enjoy more.  I thought I remember reading the Ten is a different source than the 7+ year OS, which makes sense as to the difference in taste.  I might buy another OS Ten just to bunker...because one in the bunker is better than two on the shelf?  Soon to be none on the shelf?

 

I wish I had bought more OS Rye SB though...

 

Jason

[flahute]

57 minutes ago, jp_stargazer said:

I read this on a shared post to the Bourbonr Facebook group.  My immediate thought was "run out and buy all the bourbonzzz!!!" but then I started to rethink it.  I am sitting on enough of the regular Old Scout bourbon (referred to as 7 years old but has been increasing as stock ages) so I'm good there.  Then I tried my opened bottle of the Old Scout Ten (not to be confused with another bourbon bottling that is also 10 years old) and confirmed my previous recollection.  The OS Ten is a great bourbon but it sells for the same $50-$55 price point as the Old Scout SB bottles, also in the 10 year age range, which I enjoy more.  I thought I remember reading the Ten is a different source than the 7+ year OS, which makes sense as to the difference in taste.  I might buy another OS Ten just to bunker...because one in the bunker is better than two on the shelf?  Soon to be none on the shelf?

 

I wish I had bought more OS Rye SB though...

 

Jason

Both 7 and 10 come from MGP, but the 7 is a high rye mashbill and the 10 is a low rye mashbill.

[jp_stargazer]

On 9/12/2016 at 1:00 PM, flahute said:

Both 7 and 10 come from MGP, but the 7 is a high rye mashbill and the 10 is a low rye mashbill.

 

Thank you for that information.  If the rye bourbon recipes were the same 10+ years ago, I am concluding from the MGPI website that they are 36% and 21% rye, respectively.

 

Jason

[dcbt]

Regarding SAOS...  On the barrel proof private selections, how can we tell which mash bill it is since there are 7 year bottles, 8, 9, 10, 11, etc?  I read somewhere (I think on the SA website itself) that the "SAOS TEN" (with the word TEN written out on the bottle) is the low rye, and the "SAOS" (without the TEN written out) is the high rye.  Those obviously generally mesh with the 10 year and 7 year normal offerings, but do those same labels apply to the BP PS offerings as well? 

 

For example, I have an SAOS 10 BP PS, but it doesn't have the TEN written out - so am I to assume that is the high rye, or is it still low rye because it's 10+ years?

[dcbt]

Also, is the production suspension applicable to the barrel proof private selections as well?  I couldn't tell from the pressers.

[JoeTerp]

1 hour ago, dcbt said:

Regarding SAOS...  On the barrel proof private selections, how can we tell which mash bill it is since there are 7 year bottles, 8, 9, 10, 11, etc?  I read somewhere (I think on the SA website itself) that the "SAOS TEN" (with the word TEN written out on the bottle) is the low rye, and the "SAOS" (without the TEN written out) is the high rye.  Those obviously generally mesh with the 10 year and 7 year normal offerings, but do those same labels apply to the BP PS offerings as well? 

 

For example, I have an SAOS 10 BP PS, but it doesn't have the TEN written out - so am I to assume that is the high rye, or is it still low rye because it's 10+ years?

I think the best course of action would be to contact the distillery with the barrel information. They should be able to tell you on individual barrels. 

[Spade]

The SAOS website states the cask strength single barrels are the high rye recipe, so I've always figured that was true for the store selections as well.

[dcbt]

2 hours ago, JoeTerp said:

I think the best course of action would be to contact the distillery with the barrel information. They should be able to tell you on individual barrels. 

Yea, that was my goal but I couldn't find contact info on their website...  Of course, I also didn't see the blip that Spade mentioned so maybe I'm just not good at perusing websites...

[BDanner]

On 9/14/2016 at 2:54 PM, dcbt said:

Yea, that was my goal but I couldn't find contact info on their website...  Of course, I also didn't see the blip that Spade mentioned so maybe I'm just not good at perusing websites...

 

They are very responsive to inquiries through their Facebook page.

[mbroo5880i]

John Little is a member of these forums.  Send him a PM.  He is very responsive to inquiries.  They are great guys!