Nose - buttered popcorn, brown butter, creamy vanilla, ghee, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - buttered popcorn, creamy vanilla, brown butter, nutmeg, black pepper, rich simple syrup, ghee, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with buttered popcorn, black pepper, and baking spice flavors. Ole Smoky is a butter overload. Buttered popcorn, brown butter, ghee, cream. It’s all there. The nose and palate are very similar. Outside of the butter variations, there’s a bit of baking spice and pepper, but not much else. Yes, I know this is a white whiskey and not a vodka, but I figured it was fitting to throw it into the series for comparison. This stands up strongly to vodkas. I don’t think it’s better than every vodka I’ve tasted, but it easily jumps near the top of the list. There are more aromas and flavors to talk about, and that’s a good thing. Overall I would never buy a bottle, but it’s not nearly as undrinkable as I imagined beforehand. I’d probably rather drink Jim Beam Original, but it’s disconcertingly not too far off.