From Bardstown To West Virginia
Boondocks Craft Whiskey, Bardstown, KY
You can almost drawn a straight line (a 6hr line) between these two distilleries on the map - Boondocks Craft Whiskey and Smooth Amber Spirits.
This week’s pair of cask strength whiskeys couldn’t be more different. One hails from the Bourbon Capital of The World offering an 11yr old product. The other is a crew from West Virginia that launched their distillery 11yrs ago.
Exploring options staring you in the face on the shelf is the theme of this pair. Our local shop was beyond excited to carry at trio of releases from Boodnocks in Bardstown. The project is led by a the Master Distiller that help launch the Woodford Reserve. Dave Scheurich, the 40 year veteran has a hit on his hands with Boondocks.
The barrels are second use bourbon barrels so it’s not technically bourbon. We opted for the cask strength for this ep, but the port finished was described as “an Angels Envy killer” during our visit to the shoppe.
Fuck Around And Be My Fav 4Yr Product Of The Year So Far
I’ll say this about the cask strength, it reminds you a lot of the non peated scotch offerings from Speyside. Sometimes we wish Scotches or Irish Whiskeys were released more often at barrel strength. The Boodocks, with less emphasis on char, and more on floral notes and orchard fruits really delivers with a unique profile. Did we mention its a goddam 11 year old cask strength American Whiskey sitting on the shelf for 50$?
Smooth Ambler Old Scout Rye is coming off a bit like a pecan pie in a glass..creamy. nutty. spicy. delicious. This whiskey is barrel proof, it’s four years old, and it’s an exercise in the understand that age doesn’t always tell the whole story in bourbon.
On the show we talk about how at a fraction of the age of the Boondocks, this Old Scout Rye is every bit as complex as the older whiskey. Never even heard of Smooth Ambler outside of their barrel picks ending up on Fred Minnick’s Best Bourbons of the Century So Far list kicking off that list at number 30. Based in Maxwelton, West Virginia, Smooth Amber Spirits has been around since 2009.
More than any previous ep. of the pod we are appreciative bourbon’s current state and the ridiculous amount of quality bottles on the shelf.
Later in the week I went back and picked up another bottle of Smooth Amble Cask Strenghth Single Barrel Rye for the vault. Outside of the Binny’s Barrel Select Knob Creek (10yr, 120 proof, 50$) this is the only time I’ve considered having a backup since we launched the show. Be sure to check out Episode 35 of The Neat Pour Pour Podcast for our thoughts on this highly recommended, easy to find, affordable pair of whiskies.
—The Neat Pour
No Cocktail of the Week (again), Chalonda too busy playing on her dumbass phone to contribute.
A Pair Of Recommended Shelf Offerings This Week