Quite bitter, but rich. Woody and smoky to an extreme. There are the usual generic spice and vanilla with some red fruit. It's like Wild Turkey Master's Keep Reserve, but with more of a gut punch. At least there is some sugar in this to balance it and the tartness is minimal. It smells like alcohol and wood. The palate is woody with alcohol, but some vanilla and toffee creep in. It's very rich and good with a nice balance to it. I wish some more complexity leapt out, but it's still enjoyable. This is a very good drink, though perhaps not a magnificent one. It's super smooth with nicely balanced spice, wood, toffee, ample, vanilla, and apple. I wish that the flavors were a bit punchier, but I appreciate the apparent age here. There's some mineral and alcohol, but neither is too bad. There is surely plenty of smoke, which really build the rich backing character. There is a hint of deep mocha, but mostly this tastes like wood and smoke without tasting like sour, putrid ash. With some water, some sharper spice and more astringent wood come out, but so does some more caramel sweetness. It's quite good. This reminds me a lot of Delord 1981 in terms of quality though it doesn't have much similarity in terms of specific flavors. More astringency and alcohol come out with the reduced ABV, making it taste more like Knob Creek Single Barrel. As more water is added, the wood's bitterness comes out more and some cherry flavor comes out too (though it is mostly in the back because of the strong wood flavor). This is a great whiskey, but at the price it is not a stellar buy. This is richer with a more purely bourbon flavor of cinnamon, wood, vanilla, and a hint of red fruit than Wild Turkey Jewbillee is, but it's also a bit less complex. There are some hints of milk chocolate and some dark coffee, but they are minor. It's quite tasty, despite a bit too much alcohol, but it lacks an absolute killer flavor and the needed complexity. It's almost as good as Wild Turkey Jewbillee. This is a bit more like Booker's than Wild Turkey Jewbillee. Booker's Kitchen Table in particular is kind of right between the two and arguably has the best of both worlds? This has more vanilla and chocolate but less cherry and complexity.