Being fairly new to bourbon, quite honestly this is the best I have had so far. I enjoy whiskey from local sources for the feeling of supporting my hometown. However, it's hard to compare the relatively immature whiskey locally to something as smooth as mature as this whiskey. To the untrained palette, this is a very complex flavor profile. Reading the "professional" reviews makes me believe people are just making up flavors to describe it. I do agree with most of them in the fact that I highly recommend it as an evening sipping beverage. I find that two large ice cubes really wake up the flavor and chill it enough to make it enjoyable because of the flavor and the contrasting temperature on the tongue.