Smooth Ambler Distillery is in West Virginia and was founded by John Little in 2009. West Virginia, like Kentucky, was once part of the state of Virginia and shares a rich heritage with Kentucky through this connection. It is no wonder that they make excellent Bourbon in West Virginia. They have access to excellent limestone water, they have a very similar climate to Kentucky and they have always had a tradition of making whiskey in the state, even if it was moonshine.
Big Level Bourbon is a wheat recipe Bourbon made at the distillery with a mash bill of 71% corn, 21% wheat and 8% malted barley. It is aged for 5+ years in 53 gallon barrels with a #4 char level. It is distilled with a column still with a pot still doubler. I recently picked up a bottle of this fine Bourbon and Matt and I sat to taste it the other day. Here are our tasting notes.
Smooth Ambler Big Level Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement, but the website states that it is 5+ years old.
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, wild berries, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, cherries, cinnamon, cardamom, hazel nuts and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, apples, raspberries, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and nutmeg and pepper spice come out to join the party. Tasted with a pecan and citrus flavor and cardamom spice come forward.
- Matt: Vanilla, cherries, cardamom spice and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the cherry notes. The pecan added caramel and cinnamon spice to the taste.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, apples and cinnamon. The dried cranberry made the finish spicy with oak wood, cinnamon and nutmeg. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood and citrus.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and cherries. The dried cranberry made the finish very fruity with lots of cherry notes. The pecan made the finish long and spicy with oak wood and cinnamon.
I would pair this fine Bourbon with a cigar that has some dried fruit notes in the smoke. I would reach for a My Father Blue cigar.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller