The nose gives the american whiskey away at first sniff. Smells like other light whiskies ive tried before. Burnt corn, strong oak and a vanilla sweetness. The sweetness probably Comes from the Cabernet cask finish, bit does not smell fruity in my opinion. The typical light flavors come in of vanilla and a creme brûlée taste, but adding a depth to it from the cask finish really helps elevate the american whiskey flavor. The finish has blue berries, black berries and whatever type of grape or berry flavor you want to add here. Overall, im not much of a fan of american whiskies evem though I want to since you can get high age stated light whiskies for a reasonable price. I say this whiskey is pretty one dimensional but…… the wine finish does help it quite a bit.