Neat. Nose of honey, vanilla, pear, and light baking spices with a surprising subdued, clean alcohol. Taste is clean, sweet, vanilla, red licorice, touch of the baking spices, green rye grass, cocoa and oak. The finish is medium, starting with a nice tart/tang, with the spices, a touch of cocoa powder, and slightly drying wood. Overall, not at all what one would expect from a high proof, inexpensive whiskey. Smooth and 'pretty'. Notably absent are much of the barrel notes of toasted oak, smoke and char many bourbons have, which is typical of WT and can be found with Four Roses, Woodford/Old Forester Whiskey Row series, but with more $$$. A definite well-known sleeper bourbon with universal availability. Available at any bar and priced the same as many lesser bourbons, and hangs with the pricier ones. Quite possibly the best flagship whiskey around and really makes you second guess the premiums for other WT products, as this one is 90+% as good.