Rating: 16/23 N: Sweet and floral - so different from barrel #81! It's like there are orange blossoms floating in this. There's a hint of mineral and a real candy sweetness here. I absolutely didn't expect this. I get some richer orange with a hint of undercooked caramel coming through. As I dig, I start to get some of the wood with a little savoriness and earthy spice. Jalapeños, perhaps. P: Spicy! There's tons of cinnamon and pepper up front that really hits me hard. It reminds me of my first impressions of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, but side by side the Russell's Reserve is less spicy with more of a rich, full flavor and some extra sweetness. This burns more than its proof suggests it should. The second sip brings out more of a sour mash flavor that has a bit of funk, but not a huge amount going on. It's initially difficult for me to pick out individual flavors, but then I start to get them. I do get some floral fruity (cherry and orange) notes and a bit of vanilla though. It's light, much light a higher proof Russell's Reserve 10 with more full and punchy flavors but less complexity. The barrel does leave a solid impression, but it isn't overwhelmingly woody. Adding a substantial amount of water brings out some bitterness from the wood and a bit of light caramel sweetness (but this is still a really dry dram overall). This has a bit of that Russell's Reserve 10 lightness and dryness with a possibly old woody layer, but this has more tartness and a bigger spicy punch. There's some substantial char going on here that gives the wood a vibe of young wood masquerading as old through charring. When I really dig, I a bit of orange peel, but it's hard to get there. F: Spicy with lots of charred wood and a bit of orange peel and faint cherry at times. Not all that complex. - Conclusion - This started as a big let-down, but it grew on me. Initially, blind, I would have guessed this was a 3-6 year old bourbon bottled at closer to 65% ABV. When I cam back the next night, it seemed like it could be a fair bit older, but I would probably have still leaned young with substantial barrel influence. I could go up to 10 years since it has a decent amount of similarity to Russell's Reserve 10. Tragically, in initial side by side comparisons, I found that this underperformed shelf staples like Wild Turkey 101. It seemed to have about the complexity and balance of Buffalo Trace after being watered down. I would have rated the two much closer than I expected and was contemplating a 12 or 13. Coming back to the second half of this sample the second night changed things. I got substantially more complexity and maturity. It still came across as hot and kind of light, but I appreciated the profile more. I think it beat Russell's Reserve 10 (15) side by side, but it wasn't quite at the level of Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.8 (18). I'm torn: based just on my second tasting, I'd lean toward a strong 17; however, I can't fully write off what I experienced the first time, which was far worse. I think I need to go with the 16, but I would be fully prepared to up this to a 17 if I tried it again. Thank you, @pkingmartin , for the sample.