Rating: 6/23 I know that this is a cheap bourbon, but I've read comparatively favorable things and considering that it's bottled in bond from Kentucky (i.e. not a really cold state), I have hopes. N: Oof. Thin and light with minerality and sugar water. Hints of corn sweetness. Maybe a touch of banana. An odd note of bitterness as well, but the alcohol doesn't particularly stand out. P: Oof again. The alcohol comes right our and burns. It's mixed in with sugar water and bold barrel spices. I do get hints of grass and banana as well. A hint of cherry, even. Maybe a faint caramel. F: Some sweetness lingers and the sugar water aspect of it is downplayed. There are spices as well. I get heat, but not as much burn as I'd expected. Hints of floral vanilla. Honestly, this is the best part of this dram by a large margin. - Conclusion - This is aggressive and hard to drink. It isn't balanced or mature, though I suppose there is some complexity. It's challenging and unpleasant, though not the worst bourbon I've tasted. King's Creek 4 (9/23) crushes this with its maturity, floral fruitiness, complexity, and delicacy. This is painful. As a double check, Early Settler (10/23) is way richer, fuller, tastier, and less fiery than this is. There's no contest. This is tragically going to be at most a 7. I think a 4 would be too harsh, but this is bad. I'm leaning toward a 6. Coming back to this a few days later, a 6 seems about right. A 4 still does seem on the harsh side, but I can imagine it. This is certainly not as high as an 8 because it burns so much.