It certainly smells smokey and woody. It's surprising laid back though. There is plenty of smoke, but not a ton of peat. Spice is present but not terribly harsh. There is a lot of toffee sweetness and plenty of sweet cherry and vanilla. Floral notes are there, but they aren't overly mineral. Toward the finish, it gives way to leather. The delicious flavors are mouth-watering. It's surprising how balanced and sweet this is. The minerals are there, but they're appropriately balanced by the spice somehow. There's some cocoa richness mixed with the smoke in the back. Ultimately, the flavor is weak and the complexity is a bit lacking, but this is darned good whiskey. I love the richness. This is a great hedonistic sipper that doesn't challenge you to like it too much. It could be better with more robustness and complexity, but it's great as is. More complexity could make it excellent, but as it is, it isn't interesting enough to carry it beyond a couple of pours. Some more robustness could bump it up a point, but some added complexity could easily bump it up two. I love how well Corsair executes its flavor and although none of these flavors make me catch my breath, the worst one is good and the best is roughly great. Balancing the strong spice with some richer other flavors would take this whiskey far. This is terrific value for an American Single Malt.