Rating: 11/23 I received this sample blind, so I have no idea what to expect. I'm pretty confident it's whisk(e)y, but honestly I can't even be certain of that. E: A nice rich caramel color. A light amber. Nothing super dark, but not light like one of those scotches aged in somewhat tired barrels. Of course, this could just be E150a N: Funky. It's fruity but also meaty. Not exactly sulphuric, but weird. Oh, I am getting a bit of sulphur now. Smoke and some sort of vegetal scent that seems like a grain mash (perhaps an Irish style whiskey?) but honestly could be some sort of armagnac. A floral hint peeks out a times. And then sort of dry barrel tannins. This is very weird, out of balance, and not enjoyable. I do like the fruit and bit of barrel tannins, but the longer I leave this here, the more the sulphur takes over. Whatever this is, it's clearly fairly young. P: It's fairly hot and intense. Whatever the ABV on this is, it has to be fairly high - I'd guess over 55%. Surprisingly, the palate has a lot less sulphur and a lot more of the floral and fruit flavors. There's a bit of muddled vegetation that is rotting slightly in the background. I don't like that character and I feel like it clashes, but it's honestly not too bad. There's a nice malty sweetness and richness to this, but there's also some grain sharp burn and harshness. I'm definitely thinking single pot still here, but it could be a blend (or a weird malt like that one I tried from Breukelen).There's some lemon coming from the grain and then some light tangerine from the malt. Possibly a bit of light caramel, but that sweetness is mostly maltiness. I'm definitely getting some sherry influence here (though I could be convinced it is an odd red wine). There's a nice, slightly oily mouthfeel as well. Maybe a bit of mustard powder too? Oh, and a little bit of those sweet ribbon candies - the regular and the cinnamon ones (75% the regular though). This a huge improvement over the nose. It's still not great, but it's pretty drinkable. F: Lingering harshness with burning, lemon, and malt. A bit of mustard powder and light char. Odd. Not awful, but definitely too hot. - Conclusion - This reminds me a bit of The Sexton (9/23). There's more malt, funk, heat, and fullness here. I think that the two aren't super far apart, but this is clearly better. Breuckelen's 7 year old bourbon cask finished american single malt (12/23) has a lot of the bite that this has, but less of the sweet maltiness and funk. This is sweeter and more approachable - and I'm actually getting more vanilla and barrel from it now. I want to give this a higher rating for being more interesting and complex, but it's definitely flawed in multiple, significant ways. I'd take the Breuckelen over this. Overall, this is a 10 or 11 and I'm leaning toward an 11. This just seems closer to the Breuckelen than to The Sexton. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample!