Dark caramel-colored orange/brown. Rather than legs, there is a tall mountain of oily whiskey that runs around the edges of the glass. The nose is barrel spice and finished, lacquered wood: black pepper dances in the nostril. The rye is redolent of black pepper, spicy red pepper flakes, cloves and fennel. A surprising dill pungency. The slightest hint of maple and corn syrup to smooth out the prickly edges. On the palate, there is more pepper spice: red and black both, I'm guessing this comes from the high rye. Fennel and carraway seeds; black licorice bitterness. The wood is all spicy and prickly. There is very little nuttiness. There is a last wave of corn syrup which cools odd the hotter bits. A drop of water really mellows it out, bringing out more of the corn, brown sugar and caramel. The finish is lots of wood char. When you let it sit, it becomes dusty, like charcoal and cocoa powder. Definitely some old cigars and tobacco ash. A little dill seed. There is something akin to spicy ribbon candy, or candied oranges (the ones from the bulk food section) without the extra sugar. I know Lost Monarch is considered a blended American whiskey, bit it tilts heavily toward the rye end of the spectrum. It's 60% rye; 40% bourbon. The flavors are more spicy rye than nutty bourbon.