Happy to have this, although it’s been much easier to obtain most any ECBP release around here - except the vaunted C923 - for the past year or so. Pour appears dark amber or even mahogany in the glencairn. Legs move lazily down the insides after rotating glass around to coat them. Nose is rich and full right away, a big punch of sweet and dustyness that’s difficult to pick apart. The sweetness is like a rich cherry syrup, with hints of caramel and brown sugar. The other component is a dry dusty note like dried corn ears, the kind that get used as fall decor. But this only undergirds the thick syrupy sweetness, it doesn’t dominate. Returning after many sips I get a fairly strong vanilla cream note. First sip is tightly restrained on the front palate, but warming and medicinal on the back palate. After more sips, the front palate is still tricky to pick apart but there’s caramel, cherry, some subtle oak, some cinnamon, and some brown sugar. The more medicinal flavors subsequently fade on the back palate, and more of a lightly tannic oak effect develops. Later on, the mid palate tastes brighter, with flashes of lemon and allspice, maybe even anise. The finish is initially hot but not for long, as the heat fades the tannic oak returns and lingers on the back palate. Little hints of cinnamon and cocoa powder dance on the mid palate. All eventually ebbs after a fairly long time. This is certainly delightful juice. The flavor is rich indeed, but the individual notes are all somewhat intermingled and difficult to isolate. This makes it easy to enjoy, but difficult to describe well. This doesn’t disappoint, though, living up to the reputation ECBP has developed for value and quality. (It’s hard to fathom, but where I live this costs only slightly more than retail for 2 bottles of EC Small Batch.) This is quite delicious and there aren’t any notable flaws, so high marks from me. 4.25/5