Golden with a hue of orange. The nose is somewhat closed off initially. Cinnamon, caraway, apple and leather give way to stone fruit and light maple syrup. Hay, eucalyptus, wet stone - almost a Gewürztraminer vibe. Interesting. Dusty bubble gum and some jammy notes even. We’re certainly not in bourbon country anymore… After awhile this declares itself as unequivocally rye (pumpernickel, tea, herbs) but with hearty fruit and borderline-astringent oak. Definitely more tannic and earthy notes than green label Seagrass - which hits some of the same notes and on the palate doesn’t hide the rhum, Madeira and apricot brandy finishing - and in fact seems to twist and turn 3-4 times, in the above order, before having to go back for more. Will this take me down such a twisted road? Holy spice Batman. This is a bit more viscous up front and drying on the back end. Tons of spices - clove, caraway, anise, pepper, tobacco (ok, not technically a spice but bear with me). Then a swell of maple and brandy notes (jam, chocolate, blood orange) and then some weathered oak and possibly even a furniture polish note. The more sips I take the more of the leather and oak come through, but not overwhelmingly so. There is always a balance with that deep bowl of spices, dark cigar wrapper, and funky fruit. The fruit is funky indeed. Not the clean, crisp apricot or red berries of its green label sibling. This is more of a stewed, almost hogo-esque fruit. This, frankly, is challenging. Rewarding, but challenging and requires both patience and a significant financial investment. I like it a good deal more than green label Seagrass but don’t know that it justifies the cost. I would gladly give $100-125 for this but the $250 is a stretch. The well aged notes are fantastic, but honestly it’s a bit too hedonistically sweet for me - largely due to the unfamiliar light-maple and fruit character. It’s not cloying but it’s not subtle either. The way the sweet notes outcompete the earthy and oak notes on the finish is the opposite of how I’d like things to wind down. Verdict - would try before I buy, except I didn’t and am left with a resemblance of buyers remorse. Not because it’s bad, because it’s fantastic. It’s just damn expensive, so much that I’m subtracting a quarter of a point.