Nose - caramel, brown sugar, spiced vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, cocoa, graham cracker, leather, black pepper, marshmallow, apple, funnel cake, floral notes, tobacco, mint, barrel spice, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - caramel, apple, floral notes, vanilla cream, orange zest, leather, tobacco, brown sugar, black pepper, milk chocolate, mint, sweet oak, graham cracker, marshmallow, cinnamon, nutmeg, cherry, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with caramel, apple, baking spice, and sweet, tannic oak flavors. What can I say about the Colonel that hasn’t already been said? Probably not much, but here it goes. First, it’s easy to tell this is a Buffalo Trace product, as many have the same sweet, floral quality that I can’t quite pin down. The nose isn’t particularly complex, but it has most of the notes I like in a bourbon. It’s a bit like a s’more mixed with a funnel cake with mint and baked apples on top. The palate brings much of the same, but some flaws present here. It’s rather thin, with some unpleasant sourness entering in the mid palate, betraying its youth. Overall, this is excellent whiskey at $40 retail, but good luck finding it outside of the secondary market. Each time I’ve seen it hit a store in Virginia, there are lines around the building an hour before opening. I paid $90 for the opportunity to purchase a bottle, and there’s no value to be found at that price. Try it at a bar if you can’t find it close to retail. Next up, I’ll be reviewing the single barrel expression to see how it stacks up.