Am on my second bottle this year so I must like it. Being a fan of Orin Swift/David Phinney wine creations, this was a natural on the Whiskey curiosity scale. Have a good many mixed feelings about this one. At $50, it noses well, tastes very sweet but only middlin' on the tongue and finishes with a dry woodiness that tastes odd, at least to me. I don't know whether this taste is more from the 9 years of American Oak, for some unusual reason, or the particular wine barrel finishing. It is different and takes some time getting used to ... and being retired and having the time, it's not a problem. In fact, I consider this another in a long list of easy sipping whiskeys. The very high corn content makes it sweet to begin with, which is a familiar taste with many American Whiskeys. The wine barrel ageing either adds to the strange woodiness I'm tasting or helps to ameliorate what would be an even stronger presence without it. The aftertaste IMHO is the biggest letdown. The tongue keeps a dry dullness to it long after the swallow, forcing another blast of sweetness to make it go away. At best 3 stars ... but since I'm on my second bottle, I must at least subconsciously understand why others rate it higher. :-)