Nose - candy corn, buttered popcorn, caramel, creamy vanilla, red berry, powdered sugar, mesquite, honey roasted peanut, orange zest, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, yeast, black pepper, anise, hay, light oak, high ethanol burn. Taste - orange, cherry, black pepper, barrel spice, caramel, creamy vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, mesquite, candy corn, mint, peanut, buttered bread, milk chocolate, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length with caramel, baking spice, and wood smoke flavors. I thought I poured the wrong sample. I would have sworn I was smelling a corn whiskey if I didn’t know this is undeniably a single malt. The aromas I associate with candy corn and buttered popcorn immediately leapt from the glass. A deeper search yields nice red berry and orange notes along with a host of baking spices and a whiff of wood smoke. It’s not a meaty BBQ smoke, but rather more akin to the smell of a grill at the far corner of the backyard that was used an hour or so ago, but is now cooling down after serving its purpose. The proof hits hard on the palate arrival, but also brings pops of sweet orange and cherry accompanied by buttery, creamy caramel and vanilla along with some smoky chocolate and baking spice notes. The finish is neither short nor long, but brings the palate to a pleasant, albeit slightly youthful and bright, close with some of the same tastes from earlier. I find the mesquite smoke makes its presence known more at this point than earlier in the experience. I’m really excited to kick off this series of Lost Lantern tastings. It’s my first experience with an independent bottler of American spirits and I’m digging their mission, transparency, and respect for the craft. I recommend checking out their website, as there’s a lot of great information along with a detailed analysis of what is contained in each of their bottlings. Overall this is good whiskey, but I think it’s too youthful to receive an extremely high mark. It’s really hot, both on the nose and palate. I feel that the flavors are all very nice, but would be outstanding and much more well integrated with another few years in the barrel. Nonetheless, it’s a pleasure to sample a single cask selection from a relatively small (and previously unknown to me) distillery. A big thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing this sample, as well as the next three I’ll be reviewing from Lost Lantern.