A really lovely honey/pastry scent with a decent amount of ethanol. There's even a citrus note on the forefront and background, if you whiff from a distance. The barrel wood comes to the palate at the very beginning, and then transforms to fresh citrus and caramel, bouncing back and forth between sweet and slightly sour or bitter. The finish is very hot, almost similar to a rye, but this is clearly from the proof. Going back for more sips transforms the scent more and more into caramel, and sweetens the entire affair while still maintaining the strength of the proof behind it.