From a Glencairn: The nose is a bit hot, with a strong alcohol presence somewhat masking the honey, vanilla and molasses that wait within. After a few minutes, the bourbon comes through a little better, but it's still fairly delicate. Somewhat thick, especially for this proof, the first sip hits the tongue hot, with a mouth-coating blast of cinnamon leading into a sweeter bit of vanilla and brown sugar. The middle dries out a bit with the oak making an appearance before finishing short, clean and neat with a hint of spice and a linger of smoke. Quite a bit of spice here, especially when compared to Jim Beam 12yr or Elijah Craig 12yr. While it's well worth the effort to find and have, the price ($65 here in AK) pushes it out of my realm of a daily drinker. This is another bourbon that I much prefer with just a splash of water out of a rocks glass...much less spice forward, and a smoother overall palate as compared to the Glencairn glass.