Smells like a bourbon with vanilla and caramel in the nose. The taste is very smooth with a bit of a drying feeling on first sip. This is a good whisky and has some nice corn sweetness with some mellow wood spice and smooth vanilla and caramel on the palate. Overall, well worth the money and a hell of a lot better than JD in my opinion. Not complex or overly interesting but a good competent drink neat, on the rocks or mixed. If you swear by JD, you should really try Dickel and give it a shot. It's hands down better in my opinion and the same price.