This is my third bottle, and I’ll note there was significant variation across them. First came from the Dickel distillery (and has Nicole’s autograph) and the last two came from a Chattanooga liquor store who said the distributor got a great deal and they’re passing it on at $54 a bottle. Makes me wonder if they did a 2023 release and it flopped? Anyway-the review. Nose is cracked black pepper, baking spice, dark cherries and dark chocolate like if you made a black forest cake but without any sugar, and then a vaguely faint and unpleasant undertone of earthiness, almost like compost. Palate is obviously rye, but with a big twist. That spicy, minty dryness opens hot and strong but then there’s a weird sweet pine flavor, like if you added a spoonful of honey to an ounce of dry gin. The chocolate and cherries from the nose are completely lacking, as is (fortunately) the earthiness. A quick transition to close, were there’s just a hint of dry, dark chocolate before more baking spices leave a tingly numbness on the gums. Medium-light bodied, thin tendril legs after a swirl but no lace to speak of, and drinks hotter than its 50%. Watered to ~45% absolutely kills the nose and brings a little cherry to the palate, but the small palate improvement isn’t worth the nose tradeoff. I seem to remember liking my first bottle, and regret now that it was not the source of this review.