RARE BREED @ 116.8 Proof NOSE: This pours into my Glencairn a beautiful shade of burnt orange. Very Oily and Coating with slow moving fat legs. The first thing you notice on the nose is the Heat. Allow the alcohol to evaporate some and go back in to get Dry and Dusty Oak, Hay, and Brown Sugar. You can nail this one as a WT product from across the room. More time in the glass yields notes of Dried Orange Peel, Baking Spices such as Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Clove. A hint of Dried flowers also evolves after some time. NEAT: Enters Sweet with Brown Sugar and Vanilla Buttercream Icing. Thick and Chewy. Cinnamon and Oak dominate the middle and back of the palate. Slightly Astringent, but less than I expected. A Long Finish with one of the bigger Kentucky Hugs I've experienced. An Oaky Sweetness coats the palate and builds with each successive sip making this one better the deeper you delve into the glass. There is not a ton of complexity, but Big Bold Oak, Vanilla, and Cinnamon are sometimes enough. I expect to get some varied flavors after a splash or two. SPLASH: Really opens this one up. A few drops of water brings that Dried Orange Peel note to the front of the class on both the nose and palate. Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Custard dusted with Nutmeg, and Toasted Marshmallow separate themselves from the single sweetness you experience undiluted. It become Tingly and Effervescent on the tongue. The hint of astringency that was present is now gone leaving just the Sweeter Oak notes. That nice warming Kentucky Hug still hangs in there, even after multiple dilutions. It can take a lot of water without losing any of the complexity. VERDICT: My memory of the 108 version is long faded, but if it was better than this one, it was only slightly. This is probably the closest I will ever come to the experience of walking into a Rickhouse and putting a whiskey thief in a barrel. Absolutely one of the best readily available bourbons on the shelf. I also have a few 375's of the previous 112 version that I picked up on sale for about $13ea. as the new higher proof was coming out. I found those in the back of my bunker with a light coating of dust. How could I have forgotten those?!? I will open and review one soon. Well done, Jimmy and Eddie Russell. Well done.