Nose: Thick rich vanilla fudge & caramel nougat are dueling it out right from the moment your nose hits the glass. Green apples and thick red woody spices with some black peppers immediately trail. Spices are intense, just shy of abrasive. Redwood lumber, dry fall leaves, sugar cookie dough and juicy lemon resonate. Old wet barrel and some nut shells, unsalted. Some peanut butter and apricot notes. Redwood tree bark is dominant and creates a sort of foundation for the nose. Cinnamon sticks and kindling round things out deep in the nose with a savory hickory-esque creaminess. Quite lovely. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Palate: The spice on this palate, like the nose, truly defines this barrel. Arrival of the spice slightly muted upon entry by vanilla but then takes off with menthol intensity like a 90 degree angle from the beginning of the palate to the finish. The Northern California Mendocino Redwood Forest in a barrel. Light piney, earthy woodiness, no doubt from the rye. Menthol, black pepper and oak on the mid palate and the spice level continues rise as a chalky dryness forms. Their is a green earthiness that isn’t vegetal that i can’t put my finger on. Almost resiny. Paper, brown sugar and hickory from nose. Thick and heavy. Smoke on the back end with an interesting corn reduction element. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Finish: Long and very ubiquitous of this barrels nose and palate profile. I really like that in a single barrel when the heart and soul of the whiskey shines through from nose to finish. Bold, long, beautifully assertive and creamy finish. Spices dance and dance. Im talking Michael Flately in Lord of the Dance. Black and red crushed peppers with vanilla and mint. Spice lingers, lingers and lingers…caramel and menthol. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bourbon and House Rating: 92.5 _______________________________________________ www.bourbonandhouse.com