To change things up, @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington sent me a series of samples that have either shapes or some code on them to prevent me from being able to know what they are until after I’ve tasted them. This turns out to be my last sample of this set that I saved to last due to the X on it. The reason I saved it for last is due to me being a little kid instead and believing that this is some sort of buried treasure that Lex marked with an X on it. Time to crack it open; channel my inner bourbon instead of rum drinking pirate and find out if this was the best of them all. The nose starts with See’s candies peanut brittle along with a balanced oak spice that then fades to caramel apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, macerated cherries and candied orange peel then light baking spices of ginger, cloves, leather and rustic reclaimed wood furniture with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups with a mild oak spice that fades to sautéed caramel apples with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, macerated cherries and candied orange peel then a medium drying oak spice mid-palate before fading to light baking spices of ginger, cloves, leather and rustic reclaimed wood furniture with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups, candied Granny Smith apple, macerated cherries, candied orange peel, leather and medium tannic oak. This is fantastic polished bourbon that brings in those traditional bourbon notes but with creamy peanut butter candy, but has a slight higher oak spice than I would like and the notes are more dialed back to create a softer, gentler, creamy bourbon than a big, bold, brash flavor bomb like a Bookers or Garrison Brothers Cowboy. In a side by side with the Saint Cloud 7 year(4.5), the Saint Cloud has a better balance and really highlights the higher oak tannins in this one, but this is much better than my Bardstown Goodwood Walnut Brown Ale finish(4.0) with more of the sweet nutty flavors and a better balance coming out on the comparison. Alas this was not my favorite of the series, but was indeed worthy of some buried treasure expedition to uncover this tasty treat which is, rip open this decoder and it is none other than……………………… Kentucky Senator 15 year. A huge thanks to @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington for all the samples as this was a lot of fun and I found a few new favorites as well as a new skill of being able to proof down whiskey to my ideal proof without ending up with some caramel water anymore.