I recently reviewed the standard Basil Hayden's, which was very disappointing. I've read that this and the standard BH are very close in age, so I'm not expecting a huge difference based on that. I'll go into this with an open mind. Nose: Fresh-baked apple pie, black cherry, black licorice, caramel, black tea, wintergreen, and spearmint. Pumpkin spice and pine. Clove, nutmeg, and heaps of oak. Very rich and unique nose. Awesome. Palate: Caramel, gala apple, peanut brittle, black cherry, walnut, and almond. Apricot. Cocoa. Cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, and oak. Thin-bodied. It's a big step down from the nose. It's good in its own right, but drinks like a watered down version of the other JB Small Batch series products--which is exactly what this is. Finish: Apricot, cocoa, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, and oak. Short-to-medium length. Bumped up a full star from the standard BH. The nose is the best part of this whiskey; it's truly one of the most intriguing noses I've found in a bourbon. The rest is good but not great. I gave this a 3.5 because of the nose; otherwise this would've been around a half-star lower. I believe this is an annual release from Jim Beam. If you're a big fan of the distillery and can find this for a good price, I say give it a go. Don't go out of your way to grab this otherwise. It's a respectable whiskey, and a welcome surprise after reviewing the marginal Basil Hayden's standard release, but not one worth hunting.