Rating: 19/23 N: Sweet with interesting spices. It's kind of like one of those Christmas ribbon spice candies, but with more interesting faint herbal and vegetal character. This is shockingly nuanced and a delight to nose. Hints of orange peel, but sweet and light. White corn. The vegetal smells fortunately don't come across as rotting or otherwise unpleasant. It smells youthful, but not in a bad way. This is already a smashing success. I hope that the palate is at least somewhere near as good as the nose. P: Light and approachable for sure, with an interesting sweetness that highlights the grain in a way that reminds me of Sierra Norte, but is less challenging. This tastes youthful, but elegantly balanced. I certainly get that ribbon spice candy in here. The herbal flavor is here and is interesting, bringing in some mint that I didn't get on the nose. A hint of spearmint even, but it isn't bad. Some increased clove gives this a little bit more woody tannin. F: The ribbon spice candy lingers for a long time, along with a bit of orange peel, and hints of rye herbs. - Conclusion - This is a really surprising whiskey. It's totally unusual, with some odd flavors, yet it's quite in balance. It's light yet decadent, with youthful flavors meeting mature mellowness. It's good and it's unique and I would love to have a bottle. WhistlePig PiggyBack (16/23) is bolder with some similar flavors, but it's less mature, balanced, and nuanced. This is clearly the better of the two drams. I'm thinking no lower than an 18 and it could be a 20. Old Forester Rye (15/23) has similar complexity, but it's a bit more forceful with less maturity. They're fairly close, but I think I continually underrate that Old Forester by a large margin. These two are fairly close, but I might lean toward this one a bit. Sierra Norte Red Corn (15/23) is way funkier and more challenging than this is. Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve (18-19/23) is bolder and more aggressive than this is, but it has a lot of spicy nuance to it. Honestly, I think that this might be slightly better. I'm actually getting old Willett vibes off of this. Well, I've had "old" Willett (I think it was 6 years) and it tasted nothing like this; however, this tastes to me a fair amount like a Willett rye that has had some extra time to mellow out and been brought down in proof. Everyone's favorite Willett Family Estate 4 (15/23) is muddled, blunt, and bitter in comparison to this. I'm going with a 19, but I could believe anything in the 17 to 20 range. This was a really surprisingly good find. Thanks for sharing @soonershrink !