Smooth Ambler
by Brian Donnelly
October 11, 2022
““What’s important to understand about Smooth Ambler is that they’d never play you for a fool. They’re honest, amiable folks doing exactly what they say they are doing. They put good stuff in bottles — no smoke, no mirrors.” ”
History
In the land of mountaineers and moonshine, the Smooth Ambler distillery was founded in 2009 in rural Greenbrier Valley in Maxwelton, West Virginia by current CEO and Master Distiller, John Little, and his father-in-law TAG Galyean (yes, spelled with all caps). Little and TAG were already working on a plan to create a West Virginia-based business together. In 2008, TAG read a TIME Magazine article about the growing micro-distilling movement and brought the concept to John, who immediately fell in love with the idea. Tag famously told John Little, “We can do this in your garage.” The idea of a small Appalachian craft whiskey appeared to be the perfect fit. John Foster joined the Smooth Ambler team as the National Director of Sales and Marketing, and together the two Johns set out to craft the whiskey, which they would want to drink.
In 2017, Smooth Ambler Spirits (SAS) agreed to sell a majority stake of their brand to Pernod Picard USA. The total sales amount was not disclosed to the public, but the investment of capital from Pernod will allow the distillery to increase production and grow its team. John Little, co-founder, and CEO will remain in place, along with the Director of Sales and Marketing, John Foster. Since selling the Wild Turkey brand to the Italian company Campari in 2009, Pernod Ricard USA has worked hard to expand their American Whiskey portfolio with Smooth Ambler, Jefferson’s, and Rabbit Hole.
Smooth Ambler has a unique formula to describe their three whiskey lines: Merchant, Merry, Make.
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Smooth Ambler Old Scout, Straight Bourbon Whiskey
The Old Scout Bourbon is their merchant product, sourced from MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, from a mash bill of 60% Corn, 36% Rye, and 4% Malted Barley. The Old Scout name will always represent Smooth Ambler’s desire to “scout” the open market to find the right merchant whiskey to fit their quality, flavor, and style preferences. This high-rye expression uses reverse-osmosis, high-valley mount water for all mashing and blending. All bottling is done from four barrel batches, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 99 proof (49.5% ABV).
The Old Scout Bourbon replaced the now discontinued Old Scout American Whiskey, a blend of two bourbons, one sourced from Tennessee and one sourced from Indiana. The only reason Old Scout American Whiskey was not legally a bourbon was that the distillery used “reclaimed” barrels or used barrels that had been re-charred before being filled with the blend of the two sourced whiskeys. The distillery no longer does this. The distillery found that most consumers were looking for a true bourbon and not an American Whiskey.
Smooth Ambler Contradiction, Straight Bourbon Whiskey
The Contradiction is a blend of two different bourbons, one that the brand makes itself and another that they don’t. Contradiction refers to the combination of “merchant” and “make” bourbon to create something entirely new. The first bourbon in the blend is Old Scout or a high-rye bourbon sourced from Indiana. The second bourbon is Big Level or a wheated bourbon distilled at the Smooth Ambler Distillery in West Virginia. This wheated bourbon has a mash bill of 71% Corn, 21% Wheat, and 8% Malted Barley. The brand used to have a line extension called Big Level, which was just this wheated bourbon, but it was discontinued, and the bourbon will be used for new products soon. The Contradiction Bourbon expression is non-chill filtered and bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV).
Smooth Ambler Contradiction Rye, A Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
In 2021, the band released its second expression in the Contradiction series. The Contradiction Rye is a blend of four different rye whiskies, including one they make themselves and three they loved from other distilleries in Indiana and Tennessee. The expression is non-chill filtered and bottled at 105 proof (52.5% ABV). The rye content of each mash bill is included below:
Indiana = 95% Rye
West Virginia = 88% Rye
Tennessee = 70% Rye
Tennessee = 51% Rye
Big Level Wheated Bourbon, Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Even though it has been discontinued, I’m still going to talk about the Big Level expression because it’s a critical blending component of the Contradiction, and I know the brand will release new expression(s) for their wheated bourbon shortly. As mentioned above, the Big Level is distilled entirely at the Smooth Ambler Distillery in West Virginia, using a mash bill of 71% Corn, 21% Wheat, and 8% Malted Barley. All corn is sourced from the state of West Virginia. The fermentation process lasts 80 hours at 82-84°F and includes sour mashing. The distillery uses a 36” Copper Column Beer Still with a Doubler. Their distillate comes off-the-still at 140 proof (70% ABV), is cut with Reverse-Osmosis High-Valley Mountain Water, and enters the barrel at 120 proof (60% ABV). The barrels are sourced from Independent Stave in Missouri and given a #4 level char. The expression is non-chill filtered and bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV).
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© Smooth Ambler 2021
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