This whisky starts very sweet. In the nose and across the palate I'm certainly picking up lots of brown sugar, toasted caramel, and I guess Maple syrup. Thankfully there is at least a second or balancing note to this whisky. Rye. The spice is barely there in the nose but wakes up in the palate. A peppery, drying spice that helps cut the sweet or balance the sugar. The finish is a bit too wood, bitter, and dry for me, but it welcomes another sip!