I picked this up a few days ago after neglecting bourbon for the better part of this year and decided to delve into a side by side comparison with the traditional Angel’s Envy which I had not yet opened either. I decided to start both neat and then slowly (one drop at a time) water down the 124 proof cask strength. The nose of the traditional was brown sugar, woodsy, allspice and black pepper. After spending a lot of time exclusively with scotch the brown sugar was the most evident here making it almost sickly sweet for me. The nose of the CS was definitely banana as mentioned and I would go as far to say banana foster with some cinnamon and cream. The alcohol is very evident when dipping my nose into the Glencarin. The palate on the traditional was cherry syrup, leather, baking spices with a twinge of orange at the end which actually gives this bourbon a nice balance all things considered. I would consider the finish to be medium. I really wanted this to stick with me longer but this is my only complaint. The palate on the CS was a wakeup call but also provided intense sweet notes of fig, dark brown sugar, and chocolate. The more water I added the more chocolate came through but I think I broke the charm somewhere around 15 drops of water which I consider to be a lot. We will call this a resilient whiskey. Strangely I could not find any banana on the palate no matter the amount of water. Finish is insanely long and high octane with a wood bite but is balanced with that brown sugar. I really enjoyed comparing these side by side and as I sipped I considered value. The traditional can be picked up for $50 in my parts while the CS was $180. While I definitely think the CS is a more fun bourbon with the “pick your own adventure” option with how much water you want to add, but I don’t see the CS being worth the coin. I would rather spend my money elsewhere. I also do want to put a plug in for wonky finished whisky. I personally think this is where the future of American whiskey will have to go to differentiate themselves from just another wheated bourbon. A prime example of this is Whistlepig Old world cask finish or the Boss Hog series. Rest in peace Dave Pickerell. All in all these are both damn fine drams and I easily recommend the traditional Angel’s Envy but only recommend the 2018 Cask Strength to someone who has to have a special edition to display on a shelf. The traditional just has too much value. Traditional – 4.25/5 Cask Strength – 3.5/5 when considering price point. If this were $100 it would be right up there with the traditional