This bottle came from Barrel No. 19-01148 that was bottled on 2-14-19 from Rick No. L-17. The nose starts with an upfront blast of caramel mixing with lots of rye spice. After the initial caramel and rye wave, there are aromas of freshly baked pumpernickel bread, roasted peanuts that fades into sweets of banana pudding topped with vanilla wafers then powdered sugar bubble gum that finishes with spices of spearmint, leather and tobacco with a light ethanol burn. The taste starts with a medium-thin mouthfeel with candied peanuts and pumpernickel bread leading to sweets of big league chew bubble gum, banana laffy taffy before spices of spearmint and a slight oak char spice take over with light ethanol burn that finishes short to medium length with banana pudding, pumpernickel bread, roasted peanuts, and light barrel spices. This is along the sweeter side of ryes with a balanced mix of rye spices, nuts, bubble gum, banana and barrel char that works well for me. I tried this next to Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye, which was Jim Murray’s 2020 whiskey of the year, and I thought this was a better balance and not as much of a rye kick in the teeth that the Alberta delivers. At the price of 50 dollars per bottle, this will cost you 20 dollars less than the Alberta and I think the VFM is high on it.