Big amber. Big spicy nose. Much MGP. Loads of cedar, cinnamon, “dill,” burnt brown sugar, cherry wood. Palate is mildly viscous and leads with complex spice, prickly cedar, dill, clove, touch of tobacco, cherry, brown sugar, candy corn, almond and leather. Altogether this is a solid MGP expression. I think I slightly prefer the 10 year barrel strength rye. This lacks some of the fresh herbs and in place highlights more candy corn and slightly toasted almond notes that border on being slightly bitter. It’s not out of balance but does hang in during the long, spicy finish. A winner for sure but a bit pricy. Probably a step up in complexity from Belle Meade NAS cask strength for $20-30 more and reminiscent of 10y SAOS.