Rating: 13/23 N: Some nice wood. It's dusty. I'm getting some real age out of this. Sour mash with a bit of orange zest. There are some faint herbal notes that I'm struggling to make out. A touch of minerals, but not in a bad way. It doesn't hit me with too much youth or alcohol. A really nicely balanced dry bourbon nose. P: A bit sweeter and lighter than the nose suggested. I get surprising notes of candy corn mixed with slices of orange that at times creates an almost sherbert-like effect. There's some wood wfor sure. It's a nice mellow layer, though it doesn't taste as mature as I'd expected. Plenty of spices come out, with pepper, cinnamon, and then ginger being the most prominent. I do get a bit of bitter herbal flavor with kind of a rye vibe heading into that sour mash. The candy sweetness really thickens my saliva in contrast to the bitter, dry rye. This certainly is not a balanced profile. I do taste minerality, but it's not too strong. F: Orange hard candy mixed with some bitter wood, and some spicy rye. None of the flavors are all that strong though. - Conclusion - This was really surprising. It's much more youthful than expected, but it's kind of fun. Don't write it off. I would say though that Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23) is substantially better. The Elijah Craig tastes older and more decadent with a fuller profile and better balance and flavor execution. I'd considered whether this could be a good alternative to Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) when I made my purchase and the answer is NO! This is decidedly inferior. Uncle Nearest 1856 (15/23) is definitely better than this, but not by a whole lot. While I can sip this, it's pretty borderline. A 14 seemed too generous for a while, but I'm considering it again now. Should I go below a 13? It's especially hard to tell because I've made great progress in clearing most spirits scoring less than a 13 off of my shelf. I.W. Harper 15 (14/23) is dry and spicy, but it tastes better put-together than this. I don't think that the gap is tremendous, but I might go down to a 12 on this. It's a 12 or 13. I think this can have a 13, but I'll be reassessing it later. Doing some more side-by-siding, I am now seriously considering a 14 again, but I'm definitely not confident. At times, this tastes about on par with the I.W. Harper, but other times it really doesn't. I think I need to stick with a 13 for now. I'm pretty disappointed in the palate following such a nice nose. I had pretty high expectations. This is fine, but definitely overpriced and difficult to enjoy.