A sub-freezing night on Pearl Harbor Day. I dip into the samples and find one from @PBMichiganWolverine as part of a blind tasting pack. Perfect evening for an American whiskey. This is a nicely colored that is a rich coppered-ruby. The nose is a straight forward slice of autumn: candy corn, nutmeg, honey. Now, take those autumn aromas and place yourself in a pinewood forest. Pine needles and balsa with spearmint surrounds. Somewhat like an air freshener. Arrives spicy creating a pins and needles sensation which dominates and overpowers, blurring any sense of flavor. What can be detected is minimal. Vanilla, brown sugar, pinewood and sap. Spearmint and pinewood with a bitter wood with lemon oil. Water is a must with this to reduces the pins and needles, though they are still present. A bit more sweetness forward. Definitely a young spirit that seems to be infused with flavors as if the spirit was “aged” in fresh pinewood barrels. Not intolerable, but nothing I would actively seek out. [80/100][Tasted: 12/7/19]