Nose: Some menthol comes out with an initial slight alcohol burn. Brow sugar oatmeal cookies are followed closely by heavy oak and spiciness. Some darker wildflower honey shows up now, but not overwhelmingly sweet. I'm left with a distinct brown sugar and molasses scent. Palate: An immediate oily herb-astringency rolls into a dark-honey sweetness. Bitter oakiness suppresses most of the sweetness, but not all, leaving a bit of toasted oats. A bourbon that is not overly sweet is a relief as I've found many are just too sweet for me. Finish: Long finish. The heavy oak spice lingers and roils in waves. Off the heels of the oak spice is a surprising earthy sweetness that dissipates into oats and cream. Water opens up a lot more corn and golden-honey sweetness and pushes all the spiciness to the back, eliminating the slight menthol note. The immediate roiling oiliness is augmented, almost like too-sweet buttery icing now. Much of the spiciness disappears, replaced by corn sweetness and a bit of butter. The finish is significantly shorter as a dusty-sweet background.