Nose: sweet vanilla. Palate: smooth, sweet, mild oak, brown sugar, light citrus? Finish: deep vanilla and an ever so slight burn. Just as with many popular bourbons these days, don’t let people fool you either way. Blanton’s is by no means a $300 unicorn bottle you need to obsess over, yet nor is it an “average” bourbon by any means. Blanton’s is a great bourbon that somehow manages to keep a consistently great single barrel whiskey through all of the barrels it puts out. Let’s not also forget that Blanton’s did not establish its name by being tied to Pappy, like say Weller 12; no, it built its own reputation and deserves the high marks it often receives. Don’t pass on a bottle of msrp Blanton’s, though I doubt you need me to tell you that, no matter what you may tell other people your thoughts are.