I'm not sure it's entirely fair to cast this as "flavored whiskey." That, to me, suggests a certain heavy-handed forcing of alien flavors into a whiskey. This isn't some kind of science experiment or adding flavored syrup, though. Clyde May's simply adds some oven-dried apples to the barrels...it just feels like a different kind of mindset than, say, Rebel Yell's root beer flavored "whiskey." Of course, maybe the difference here is that I like this one, but would generally turn my nose up at the genre of "flavored whiskey"...so, perhaps I'm just trying to justify myself. At any rate, it certainly is not an unnatural flavoring - it smells like taffy apples, and tastes like a green apple inflected, spicy bourbon with a buttery mouthfeel and a surprising cocoa note that pops up. Personally, I enjoy it; the higher proof for the Special Reserve does give it a bit of extra oomph than the standard bottling (including a richer mouthfeel), but it feels a bit hot at 55% ABV. Not sure this is worth the usual $50-60 price tag, but at the 40% clearance rate...well, that I'm willing to pay.