Rating: 18/23 Bottle kill tasting here. This is such an interesting dram, so I've kept it around for a long time and it's gotten a lot of air. I think that it's finally time to let it go though. N: Earthy, jalapeño, light tropical fruit, a hint of vanilla, light cinnamon, and a mellow malty sweetness forming the base. Faint tobacco. The nose is some sort of weird rye/bourbon/malt overlap zone. I'm actually really liking it. P: Sweet malty richness gets hit by earthiness and then a punch of jalapeño. As the jalapeño fades, cinnamon and black pepper come out, leading into tropical fruits that make me think of Willett Rye 4. A little bit of dry tobacco comes out. Clove, a touch of ginger. The complexity is good, but the depth is even more impressive. Dry tobacco with somewhat tannic - yet interesting - wood overlay the faintest of vegetal notes. F: Sweet yet earthy with a bold spiciness. Cinnamon, clove, faint jalapeño. Mature malt. Full-bodied wood. It's a surprisingly complex finish and it lingers for a long time. Really enjoyable. - Conclusion - Side by side with Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16), this is very competitive. I think the richness and funkiness here earn this the win. I also think that this beats George Dickel Bottled In Bond (16). I'm looking at a 16 to 17 here. I can even imagine an 18 though. This is not tremendously inferior to Belle Meade Cask Strength (19). It might even taste a little more mature. Resilient 15 (18) is really competitive with this. The resilient is a bit more hedonistic, but this is more funky and complex. After all of this comparing, I'm going with a 17. This does depend upon an incredible amount of air being introduced here, so fair warning. But the potential for this to develop is terrific. Gosh, maybe it's even an 18. What a wonderful surprise! I'll go up to 18, but I won't recommend this as I would most 18s simply because of the tremendous amount of air that went into this final sample. I'd seriously consider buying and aging another bottle if I found one though.