Nose - strawberry jam, anise, earthy mint, cocoa, currant, caramel, vanilla, black cherry, plum, clove, allspice, cinnamon bark, dry oak, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - strawberry jam, spearmint, clove, anise, cranberry, butterscotch, vanilla, cherry, plum, cinnamon, sour oak, orange zest, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with jammy red fruit, mint, spearmint, anise, and baking spice flavors. It’s Christmas Eve, and this whiskey has visions of sugar plums dancing through my head. I bought the bottle last year and haven’t had more than a few pours of it since. Let’s hope it keeps the Christmas spirits high. The nose is minty and jammy. Dark red fruits abound with a heavy dose of anise and other baking and rye spices. The palate keeps the mint train rolling, offset with those same dark red, jammy fruits, bark spices, and sour, almost tannic oak. Well this is good, but I really wanted to like it more. The aromas and flavors are nice, but something’s off. It’s slightly sour and generally feels like it’s lacking some necessary depth. The finish also misses the mark and is borderline thin. Overall, this profile had a lot of potential, but the execution just doesn’t deliver. It seems I’ve missed the glory days of MWND releases. I spent $110 on this bottle last year, and it’s not worth it. I can’t speak for the newest act, but it probably doesn’t deserve a pickup at anymore than retail.