Nose (neat): Rye spice, leather, tobacco, very fine oak notes, cedarwood, salt-water taffy and roasted peanuts. Over time the nose fills out further as vanilla, caramel, mint and menthol notes emerge. Nose (watered): A pleasant marriage of the notes that are apparent when neat, but a great deal of the bold character is lost. It tends to become merely a very nice example of the Jim Beam house nose. Palate (neat): Big, spicy and dry arrival with a fair amount of heat. There are certainly identifiable notes such as cinnamon, dill, clove and sour cherry, but any nuance is throttled by the overly busy oak tannins. This palate is so dry, bitter and hot it is almost a caricature. Palate (watered): Much softer arrival, still spicy and dry but the heat is tamed and the whisky is considerably more welcoming. Most importantly, the palate opens and develops to clearly display dark fruit, brown sugar, toffee, espresso and an excellent chewy woodiness. Overall water provides desperately needed balance and allows the whiskey's undeniable qualities to shine, and I thought the texture was also greatly improved. Finish (neat): Long. Dominated by hot and bitter spices that eventually just wear off. Finish (watered): Still long, but the bitter notes are now balanced by just the right degree of sweetness. A dark cherry and chestnut wood flavour is distinct in the aftertaste. When first poured neat there is a blast of ethanol on the nose - let it rest for 10 minutes and this blows away leaving the whiskey more approachable. It's authoritative but a little austere and it reminded me slightly of some dry cask-strength Speysiders I've nosed. On the whole, however, I thought it was a very good nose. The palate, on the other hand, leaves a great deal to be desired. The arrival was promising but it quickly took a wrong turn in the development, which to me seemed more like a collapse of the arrival into a melange of bitterness. To be quite honest I thought it bordered on undrinkable. However generous dilution completely transformed the palate, and the spirit is certainly bold enough to take water with no effort at all. I'm sure there are more seasoned bourbon drinkers than I who would love the neat palate, but for me it was just out of control and needed the discipline of water, which I thought rendered it far more elegant. If I rated this as neat I'd give it 2 stars and consider it a failure, however with water it's a 4-star dram, so I'm splitting the difference and rating it at 3. Many thanks to @Soba45 for the tasting sample. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)