On the nose it is not dissimilar to Michter's American but with more oak. Way more oak. That made me a little trepidatious. My first couple of small quick sips that was the theme, very oaky influence. On the third sip I chewed it for a while and found this wonderful explosion of spices and nuttiness to go with the underlying caramel and the oak which was still there but had nestled back into the background. I let it sit for a bit and returned to it and the glass had really opened up. Spices and caramel led the way. Definitely some nuttiness and still the oak but it no longer seemed as raw. By the end of the glass it was a whiskey I was thoroughly enjoying and I'm diving in for another glass. The finish is something else. Still wrestling with exactly what it is. It is rather dry, sort of herbally with perhaps some liqorich in there. I'm still not sure. Not unpleasant at all, but certainly not a finish of the sort I've run across with any frequency, more like a rum than a whisky