Rating: 19/23 N: Big and bold, with lots of wood, vanilla, and smoke. It doesn't smell overly bitter though. Eventually, some spices come out in the rich cinnamon range predominantly and there's a little overlap with something faintly like coffee. There's not other complexity here, but it has this rich, old smell to it and the complexity is solid enough. The scents are at least not muddled. P: The flavor and proof hit me less than expected after that nose. It's rich with charred wood and mocha. I get a really nice sort of fruity vanilla richness in here too. It has an uncomplex but hedonistic character. There's also this sort of mature flavor that isn't quite musty coming out of the vanilla that carries a bit of a hit-or-miss bitterness that isn't quite like sucking on a spent vanilla bean. It's almost sort of organic, bordering on heavily toasted malted barley or something. It's kind of odd, but I like what it adds here. If someone wanted to label this flavor a flaw though, I wouldn't object to them making that call. F: Some bitter char lasts, blending into the remnants of the mocha. There's not much left of the spice, but I do get some vanilla richness underlying this from time to time. - Conclusion - This is really nicely hedonistic. There's surprisingly little bite here, but it tastes quite old and rich. The proof hits me more in the nose than on the tongue, probably due to the lowish spice level. It lacks the complexity of Elijah Craig B520, but this is no slouch. As for a rating, I wouldn't put this below an 18. I'm looking at an 18 to 19. This strikes me as comparable in quality to Wild Turkey Rare Breed, but older and less complex. It's a tricky comparison, but I'm low on options to side by side in this score range. I think I'll go with the 19 here, but it's borderline. This is sample B in an unlabeled set of 4. There are about 15 different bourbons and ryes that this could be. Looking through the list, the richness, smokiness and clear age lead me to think that this is likely Sam Houston 14. It could be one of the other older ones like Cream of Kentucky 13, Bomberger's Declaration (unlikely, considering how low the proof seems here), Barterhouse 20, or Rhetoric 25. This is a tough call to make because this is clearly a well-aged bourbon, and all of those are well-aged bourbons. And I haven't tried anything from any of those producers before. Elijah Craig Small Batch doesn't seem quite as proofy in comparison, but it's pretty close. I'm thinking Sam Houston is the most likely at its 49% ABV. - The Reveal - I'm just going to go ahead and state the the name "Cream of Kentucky" is deceptive here. I expect a sweet, rich, balanced, smooth bourbon with the name including the word "cream". This is a funky, off-beat thing. It's a rugged bourbon, not a refined one. Cream of Kentucky 13 was my second guess for this one, so the name didn't entirely deceive me, but I still find it to be a poor fit. Still, it's quite a nice bourbon. Thank you @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for providing the sample.