A bottle of Smooth Ambler Contradiction is exactly that, a huge contradiction. A mix of a wheated bourbon and a spicier bourbon with a heavier rye mash bill; 27 percent of the bottle was aged 2 years while the remaining 73 percent was aged 9 years. Despite what might look like odd pairings the end result is a solid product.
The bottle I found was batch number 16 and bottled by James at 50% abv. The nose is sweet with some vanilla hints, the “wheater” dominates the nose without any real hint of spice. The taste is brings in the spicy rye and aged wood notes. It finishes heavy with the spice fully taking over the sweet notes.
