Rating: 16/23 I don't think I've ever tried a sauternes-finished bourbon before. In fact, I may have only previously tried one sauternes-finished dram at all. E: This is surprisingly a bit darker than Boon County Oloroso Finish. I guess oloroso isn't a dark sherry, but I'm still surprised. N: Super sweet, but still bourbon. A bit of kind of rough youthful meatiness mixes in with vegetal and kind of herbal backing. Then a big citrus smell with sugar and caramel. It's like lemon and caramel, I guess. A bit of nutty richness, as is to be expected with this kind of finishing. Fairly strong minerality. Some dry barrel spices that have a bit of nuance to them. I want to say that there is a touch of orange too. Possibly a dash of anise. P: There's a bold oakiness with lots of tannins. It kind of tastes over-oaked, but it's not so far gone that it's a big problem. Moving past that, I find a spicy bite that lacks complexity and a slightly watery minerality. But then it develops peanuts and the strong flavors start to fade into each other and rich, decadent sultanas come out. Also, the tannins aren't totally bad. Although they don't deliver a pure leather flavor, they move past the over-steeped teabag realm and land somewhere between the two. I also do gradually start to detect some more spicy nuance, with ginger and cinnamon being the most evident, though some clove definitely coming in as well. F: The sultanas from the palate grow into the dominant flavor, making this a decadent finish. Bits of wood and spice and faint herbs surround them, but it's really all about the sultanas here. - Conclusion - This doesn't totally stick the landing, but the peanut and sultana flavors, as well as the well-integrated finish, really signal to me that sauternes is a totally viable finishing option for bourbon. The more I have this, the more I appreciate this. It's kind of out there and it has its problems, but it's quite enjoyable overall. I'm finding this to be competitive with Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) or slightly better. I'm thinking that this is looking like a 16, but it could be a 17. An 18 would probably be pushing it. Considering the (present but not at all excessive) amount of teabag character to the tannins, I'm thinking that this is most likely a 16. Could be a 17 though. Coming back to this, I can't imagine it being under a 15, but a 17 is a little bit of a stretch. It's not at all impossible, but this will be a low 17 if it is one. Thank you, @Milliardo , for sharing this fascinating whiskey! It was a lot of fun to try and had some really nice decadence to it.