A beautiful deep amber, thick and viscous. On the nose: buttery caramel corn and burnt sugar. From appearance and and nose, I thought the taste would be a totally different experience. In my opinion, this is not a smooth drinker- the heat is obvious from the get-go. Very, very spicy. Obvious and typical vanilla and caramel notes. Adding water tames the heat and allows the creme brûlée sweetness to shine. One taster in our group noticed a sourness on the finish that went away with water. Once it’s gone, you can feel it in your mouth for far longer than you can taste it. Out of the three of us who tried it, all three agreed it was better with water and two thought it was better with one ice cube. If you prefer to drink it neat, letting it sit in a rocks glass for about 10 minutes allows the ethanol heat to burn off, making it more smooth and sweet without watering it down.