The best way I can describe this whiskey is that it's like a girl I dated once...ok, ok, twice. You see, the problem was simple - I was lonely as hell, living out on the Iowa prairie by myself in a tiny town, and I desperately wanted this girl to be "the one," or at least someone I was really into. But...I wasn't. I just kind of found her moderately enjoyable, but there wasn't much in the way of chemistry. The same applies, though the nose here is phenomenal - big and full, loaded with nutty banana bread, vanilla, a little dried apricot and fig drizzled with honey. The palate isn't bad, but it seems a little flat compared to the nose, with a short finish. The sherry notes fade a bit, too, and you're left with a more-or-less generic seeming Irish whiskey. I suspect that, if bottled at a higher ABV, there might be a bit more to enjoy. It's a shame; I could nose this all day.