Aromas jump out of the glass, very potent vapors without much ethanol. Oak plays the backbone for everything that is happening in this nose. It dominates, but it lets other flavors come out to play too. Tobacco, dark chocolate, black cherry, cinnamon and star anise, musty old bookstore, and shoe polish play off the heavy oak presence quite well. But there is nothing light about this bourbon. The heavy char is very prominent and brooding. Reminds me of bottles with much more age to them like the Rhetoric series. Super rich, sweeter than expected right away with vanilla, sweet tobacco, and some root beer with cola like spices in the background. The drying oak isn't overpowering but plays a nice contrast to the sweeter initial flavor profile. Finish is dry with toasty oak and cinnamon hard candies. Warming and oh so smooth. Surprising lack of burn on the way down either. Delicious These releases never really disappoint. This is simply delicious for oak lovers. Once you get past the heavy char there is a surprising amount of sweet flavors there too that strikes such a good balance. Beautiful stuff