Color: Deep bronze/amber. Nose: Strong nose... familiar to other high proof offerings I have had. Molasses, sweet burnt oak. Palate: (Drank with large ice ball) This is a hot one, folks!.... Initial sweet crisp apples, followed by a hefty chest hug and tongue tingle. Yup... apples! Apples soaked in, well... booze! LOL. The ice slowly mellows things down a bit, but this stuff will definitely warm you up on a cold Winters night. I'm enjoying this maiden voyage very much. The expert review here listed, "maple" as a primary flavor. I'm not getting that, unfortunately. Maybe in future pours...? Finish is long with what I will attribute to oak and the char. I managed to find this bottle at my trusty grocery store... the very last one they had — and they didn't even know they had it until I asked them to look. I'd buy again if I can find it again. Added 12/8/23: Having this tonight. Got blasted with both vanilla and caramel on this pour! As such, I am bumping up my original rating from 3.75 to 4.