This may be the first time in my life that I've seen anything on "clearance" at a liquor store in Ohio. I'm not sure why it was marked as half off, but when divine intervention strikes, you take the opportunity. I haven't had a Boone County product since the original, sourced 1833 series, which was one of the best sourced MGP products I can remember in the recent past. Other than their bourbon cream (which also happens to be my favorite of this product type that I've found to this day), I remember Boone County being on their way to making some other products, but it appears that enough time has passed and they finally have their own barrels broken open, in both bourbon and rye. I'm not familiar at all what the differences between all of the product lines are, so I can only go off what I have in front of me, and that happens to be a mid-proof, milk toast mash bill but with decent age behind it at between 5-7 years. Of note to scrutinize is the claim on both the bottle and the website that the use of a pot still (which has been in use worldwide for distillation for hundreds, potentially thousands of years) gives this "a full body and complex flavors not found in other Bourbons." I find it hard to believe that all the other simplistic factors in this creation process net out a product that is in any way shockingly unique, but I digress. The color begins as somewhere between dark maple syrup and stained chestnut wood with a hint of red. The nose begins with incredibly clean and raw rye and malt grain, with the ratio about 40/60, as well as cherry wood, milk chocolate, basic citrus, and a little general florality. The proof is almost perfectly balanced, being just powerful enough to let the spiced rye bloom, but not too strong that it knocks you out of the glass or kills the nostrils. The flavor very strongly presents as raw grain, but strangely more so the blend detected from the nose and leaving almost any trace of corn behind. The proof also acts a little aggressively here, pushing the rye and malt notes into the gums and tongue and end up tasting both spicy and dry, but still doesn't burn out the palate along the ride. No other notable flavors arise from repeated sips, leaving the finish to be a little calmer as far as hotness, but malty and dry overall. This is so very reminiscent of a young, 1-2 year bourbon, making it that much more disappointing when I remember that it's been aged for at least 3, 4, or even 5 times that amount. I'm not sure how 5 to 7 years can pass in a barrel without picking up any of the natural wood sugars or sweetness, but this seemed to have found a way. To their credit, this does make it the oldest bourbon I've ever had that tastes this young, so the claim of it "not found in other Bourbons" is correct in the end. I'm fairly certain the discounted price on this was somewhere in the $20 range, but with the young flavor and nothing else beyond that, it doesn't even seem worth that much. Still, I am curious to try other products in the brand's portfolio, but would only do so at a bar or directly at the distillery, and would be very weary of the price altogether, whether by the ounce or by the bottle.