Man: Stagg is some pretty potent stuff. I kicked off my journey with Stagg with Batch 18 which was a heavy hitter and Batch 19 ( AKA 22B ) isn't much lighter. That said, if you can peek through the ethanol heat of this bourbon, there are some more complex and delicious qualities about it. The nose certainly doesn't smell of the proof. Black cherries with figs and caramel tantalize your senses as you go in for a taste. The taste is burning, tongue prickling proof. I wish I had chance to decanter this bourbon as I believe some time mingled with air would do it some good. But off of a freshly opened bottle, the taste is overwhelmingly ethanol with pepper. Vanilla does take back stage to all the heat, but is present enough to actually be noticeable. Really hard to taste anything past the heat. The finish is long lasting because it has to be, in order to let the heat from the taste die off. A little bit of vanilla still remains, mixed with some sour cherries. But really, dissipating heat takes center stage here. This one is tough for me. Everyone seems to swear by all things Stagg but I just think its a bit too hot to really be enjoyable. That said, I'm sure some pips of water or a little time in a decanter would really benefit this bourbon but really: who has the time for that?