N: Big hit of vanilla with cinnamon and oak spice. Cinnamon dusted roasted peaches. Some dried red fruit, not much. Some earth and leather funk. A dusty library type smell. More red fruit as it opens. P: Red fruit, peaches, and pear with lots of toasted cinnamon and oak. Baking spice, vanilla, toffee. Coffee berry - or at least what I imagine that tastes like, something like a cross of coffee and cherry, but with the cherry toned down and leaning more toward generic berry notes. Drawing air across it releases even more red fruit, now with a cooked/roasted nature to it. Finish brings lots of oak bitterness, a medicine aftertaste note, more coffee, splash of dark chocolate, baking spice, some cinnamon, and some of that leather and dusty book from the nose. But really, finish is mostly just bitter. I saw this on a shelf in late October and initially decided to pass while also thinking I wasn't likely to see it again soon - just seemed too pricey at the time. Then I thought, maybe it'll be a nice pour for Thanksgiving - a corn based whiskey seemed right for the holiday (even though I knew most of my guests pretty much exclusively drink fruit-forward single malt scotch) and sharing it for the holiday felt like justification for the cost. Knowing KC, I decided to crack this a week before Thanksgiving to let it have at least a little room to breath before the holiday. That first pour was like a warning - this isn't a beginner's whiskey: it's bitter, it's dusty, it's not bright, it's not easy. I should have known better, but just told myself that was why I opened it early and a week with oxygen will help. Needless to say, the week did not help and this was not a hit on Thanksgiving. I recall half finished pours after the family left - obviously I combined them and finished it myself, so not a total loss, I suppose, although I may have accidentally turned off some of the family to bourbon. I have work to do to bring them back around. (And forget about the Lag 16 I thought would go great with dessert...) Now we're a few months out and I still find this whiskey difficult. It is mature, big, and assertive. It is quite bitter, which I don't hate, but it puts it in a bit of a niche. A cube or some water might open it up, but I hesitate to do that with a 15 year old - feels like it shouldn't be necessary, especially at only 100 proof. Maybe that's not the right way to think about it. I'm really not sure. I have a pour or two left, so maybe I can still experiment. As a side note, I thought this would disappear from shelves fast. I was wrong. Still around and now $40 cheaper, so I have to guess I'm not the only one who doesn't love it at it's price point. Difficult nature and all, this would be an interesting bottle at $60-70, but even at $110 it feels too steep. I got robbed at what I paid, but I guess that happens sometimes the deeper down this rabbit hole you go. _______ A bunch of regular Distiller reviewers are chatting spirits in real time on Discord. Please join: https://discord.gg/crpksjtkMu. (If the link is expired, post a comment and I can get a new one.)