Sunday, 20 October 2024

Smooth Ambler 2016 La Distillerie Générale 6 yo

 
 
 
62,5°
Distillery : Smooth Ambler Spirits - U.S.A.
New Charred White Oak Barrel and Charred Oak Barrel 
Independent Bottling 
By La Distillerie Générale
Limited Edition
Single Barrel
Bottled in 2022
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Totally Unpeated



La Distillerie Générale is a brand launched in 2017 by Pernod Ricard, to showcase their best casks, their curiosities, in small 35cl bottles. This wonderful adventure has apparently come to an end in 2022, and that's a shame, but before that, they graced us with some legendary bottlings, notably 9 whiskies and Bourbons, including this 6-year-old Smooth Ambler, aged at an altitude of 700 metres in West Virginia, then bottled in France. The label says that 370 bottles have been produced, but the sales website says 434 bottles, which is odd.




Let's Taste It : 
Roasted hazelnuts, thick and heavy caramel, airy vanilla, dried apricots, languorous honey, walnut tart, a touch of heather and beetroot, cashew nuts, coated peanuts, ripe yellow lemon, treacle. On the palate, the fruits are a little redder, redcurrants, cranberries, brown sugar, dark chocolate, but it's very powerful, and this leads us to a destructive finish, just long enough, pepper, coffee, black earth ready to be ploughed, damp bark. Muscat grape. A hint of blackcurrant.
 
In Short, 
It's very good, slightly foresty, with red fruit and beetroot, which makes it an atypical Bourbon. The price is high, especially for a half-bottle, so it's still available two years after its launch. But it will appeal to Bourbon fans looking for something original.
Score : 89
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :
 
                                           How To Destroy Angels - Ice Age

No comments:

Post a Comment