Rating: 17/23 N: Maple, some barrel char. A hint of some sweet tropical fruit. There's some maple and a little caramel. There's something a dash like a dry waxy tartness. P: There's a definite rum influence here. It's sweet and kind of complex, but could be off-putting to some. I get sweet but rich and restrained tropical fruits (banana, rich orange, and pineapple at least) with maple, a bit of something like dried tart cherry, some char, and some kind of rich herbal funk. I feel like there's some vanilla in here, but I'm having trouble identifying it. I do get a dash of waxiness as well. This is solidly complex, though not amazingly so. The balance is very good, though a bit toward the sweet side. There's some good richness and fullness, though not as much as from a super mature cask strength offering. Overall, it's a very nice palate, though I have trouble telling whether it is a bourbon aged in a rum barrel or a rum aged in a bourbon barrel. I'd probably guess the bourbon in a rum barrel because there isn't enough firework flavor here, but it's oddly tough. I get some of the Appleton Estate 12 stateliness, but also a bit of that youthful but vibrant Plantation Xaymaca vibe. And then just some maple, kind of caramel sweetness. F: The sweetness and fruit largely fade and the char remains along with some of the less full flavors. It's a decent finish, but not nearly as good as the nose. - Conclusion - This is a fun dram. It's good and likely to appeal to novices with its sweet, fruity flavors. I like it, but it doesn't quite have the complexity, balance, and refinement I would expect of a top-tier dram. In terms of interesting finished bourbons, my preference is definitely for the more restrained Blood Oath Pact 6. Considering that, this is at most an 18. I would put this ahead of a well-oxidized Russell's Reserve 10, so this is in the 17 to 18 range. I feel like I like the increased complexity over the Russell's a lot, but the rum sweetness is fairly brash. I would label this the superior dram, but not by an incredible margin. To me, the rum just stands out too much here, so this needs to be a 17 rather than an 18. I can certainly imagine upping this to an 18 on a subsequent tasting, but I originally thought that this might be as high as a 20 and I just don't see that happening now. Thank you @pkingmartin for the sample :)