Nose is luscious and sweet. Apricot, vanilla, white chocolate, orange blossom honey, cherry cola, birch bark, cinnamon, white pepper, allspice, and more. Whoa, smoke initially but quickly turns to vanilla root beer, apricots with whipped cream and caramel, black pepper, and more smoke on the finish. Pretty sweet rye with that really interesting smokiness up front and at the back end, love it. Finish is med+ with nice body and almost no burn but it does make my mouth tingle in a very pleasant way. This is a complex rye through and through. Being a wine lover as well, I appreciate the Sauternes barrel influence and the nuanced sweet complexities it adds.