This is good. Best Beam I've tried to date (and when I say that, I mean something that actually says BEAM on the bottle). Light caramel in color with a great nose of barrel oak with honey, vanilla, varnish and a hint of leather. A splash or cube of ice brings dried fruit and pipe tobacco to the mix. Neat you get big oak backed by caramel corn, vanilla and brown sugar. All the traditional bourbon notes take a backseat to the barrel. A tad thin, but not overly so. It finishes with a drying oak astringency. A slightly sweet vanilla mint lingers on the palate (think an MGP 95 rye). Add a cube of ice and the sweet notes assert themselves a little more strongly on both the palate and the finish. While not a traditional bourbon profile, it was very enjoyable. Gets an extra star for the under $30 price tag.