It has some interesting herbal notes, but also some chocolate, mild coffee, and sweet toffee. There's spiciness for sure, but it isn't overwhelming. The flavor is balanced though it is a bit medicinal. There's smoke and some barrel presence but it's still balanced. There is a decent amount of complexity and the flavors stand out reasonably well. The finish is a bit bitter but is still acceptable. It would be nice if the flavors were a bit higher quality and/or stood out more prominently. I'm not a huge fan of the herbal flavor here, but it is a reasonable thing to have. I would happily sip this whiskey, but I would be wishing for something more the whole time. There's something a little rancid going on that I'm not a a huge fan of. It's still good though. It has a bit of a nutty oiliness that reminds me a bit of Pendleton. There is some fruit in the sweetness but it is hard to place. If you really dive into the subtleties, there is a lot of good flavor standing out. Unfortunately, it all stands out about equally and it takes a lot of attention to pick out the flavors. I appreciate the sweetness and nuttiness (peanut), as well as the balance. Even though none of the flavors are great, the whole package is quite good. The nose is full of rancid meat with plenty of alcohol and a little bit of rye. The palate is very oily and has a lot of spice. It's rich with lots of rancid but oils, reminding me a bit of Pendleton 1912. It has this unappealing young caramel flavor to it. It's hard to believe that there is much in of the older bourbons in this. The rancid flavor is bitter and give it a bit of a medicinal vegetal flavor along with a bit of earthiness. There are some going red fruit notes that stem from the rye tartness and minerality. This cranks the bad side of Old Forester Signature up without compensating with a better good side. This is somewhat comparable to Jim Beam Black Label, but it has more issues. Ultimately, this is borderline in terms of sippability, but it is a good base to mix from. The nose is fairly meaty but otherwise uninteresting. The are peppery, minty, and cardboard scents too. The palate is black pepper with rye spice and lots of caramel with some light wood. It isn't terribly deep or overly rancid, but it does taste on the young side. There's some vanilla that goes with the rye and the oily meat. There are some flavors here and there's nothing terribly bad, but it's unexciting and a little off. There's a weird molasses flavor that is a bit sickening. It is far from the worst whiskey I've tried, but it tastes grusomely young nonetheless. There are some nice details that save it, but for the most part, this is a bold whiskey that misses its mark. It's not terrible, but it has serious flaws that detract from its richness. It's richer than Evan Williams Black, but it has less complexity and balance. Unfortunately, it's inferior. The flavor is quite one-note with caramel and some spice mixed with some nuttiness (including almond) and maybe some cherry, but no real variation in character throughout. It has kind of a cola flavor on the finish and is generally sweet throughout, though it ends with that cola bitterness. This is a great mixer but it really isn't a sipper. It has some generic sweet and mineral elements that stand out and are indicative of bourbon, but it's also quite flat in flavor. It's oily with a distinctly bitter alcohol flavor. There's some caramel too, but it's a little sweet. It's pretty generically bourbon and while the oily element does give it a bit of a creamy texture, it also leaves the whole thing tasting rather one-note.