Stellum Bourbon

I had a hard time picking the vanilla notes and taste. More spice, clove, a bit of leather and maybe dark fruits. Pallet definitely leaned into the rye flavor profile for me. Spicy, dark, pepper, anise and a long finish but no minty or herbal notes.

Color is light amber. It looks young, but it has thick legs with a swirl on the glencairn. Sat for about 10 minutes. The nose is a woody marshmallow cherry. First taste is more of the same but plenty of warm borderline burn up front. Taste is a lot of thick maple syrup sweetness, but you taste a strong dry red rye cinnamon as well. Long aftertaste with a nice lighter warming sweetness. Ultimately its a solid drink. Looking forward to it as a manhattan base. This is a solid sipper/mixer being that it was on sale half off, but for $55-ish msrp I can name plenty of better options (Rare Breed, McKenna 10, Knob Single barrel, etc.). Its built for an ice ball, but works on its own. Warm, heavy, and sweet, its great for the season. Worth a try.