Here I am, in a not-too-dissimilar situation as my last note on EC18: after having written a few wine reviews post-dinner, I was in the mood for some bourbon, and I reached for this. I was not disappointed (except for the lack of cookies in the pantry). As was the case with my prior review, my first sensation was coconut. Not a "whiff"; not the 8th in a series of 12 descriptors; but an honest-to-goodness, I've-been-hit-on-the-head-by-a-bowling-ball-from-a-palm-tree coconut. Coconut is followed by vanilla--both from 18 years in hot Kentucky oak, of course--along with cinnamon, caramel, some cherry, a little cocoa. The silver lining of the dark cloud that has hung over the bourbon industry of late is the consumer's ability to find many whiskies that were previously unavailable in the marketplace, except at wildly inflated secondary prices. Four years ago, I'd never seen EC18 in the wild. My first glass was at a bar in Boulder, CO around 2021. It could be had for $300-350 and up at the time online. Then it started showing up in stores, and the price started falling: $299, $279, $229, $199...I've now seen it for $169. Don't get me wrong: $169 isn't cheap. But if you assume ~12 glass from a 750ml bottle, that works out to $14.08 per pour--real money, but a pittance compared to what you'd pay in a bar. Come on, help a brother out! I'm doing my best to justify this. But I'm enjoying it while I am, regardless.