This is immensely smooth with some sweet, bitter, and tart notes. While the bitterness suggests it's high ABV, the smoothness does not. The nose has some surprising tomato notes. It is exceptionally drying. The smoothness despite the high ABV is a nice surprise, though with a lower ABV, the bitterness would have been cut back a bit. It starts off with bitter unsweetened dark chocolate and wood in a way that reminds me of Glenfarclas 25 and Jollite VSOP. Fortunately, the wood eventually lets some sweetness, vanilla, and fruity (strawberry?) notes in. The full flavor has some interesting little subtleties for those looking closely and despite standing in stark contrast, the vanilla and fruity notes provide good balance. The finish is clean and the whole experience provides sufficient depth. I wish the sweetness, fruit, and vanilla were cranked up a bit and it would have been fun to at a bit more smoke somewhere in here, but this is a fine bourbon. Unlike the Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch, this bourbon is more suited to my tastes, so from my point of view the gap in rating between the two of them should be taken as more favorable to Wild Turkey Master's Keep Revival than it actually is. Compared with Glengoyne 15 (a Scotch staple), this wiskey has more depth and complexity, but I like its flavor less. The finish on the Glengoyne has a bit too much bitterness, but its rich fruitiness is quite satisfying. The comparison is difficult, so take this note to just mean that neither blows the other out of the water. I kind of just wish this were a Cognac. Reminiscent of Stagg Jr, but notably better. In the right circumstances, wood, cinnamon, red fruit, and vanilla come through without having the wood and cinnamon completely dominate. I would still prefer less wood and cinnamon, but under those conditions this is enjoyable. Immediately, wood and cinnamon take charge. Shortly after, caramel comes in, then the wood fades into smoke. Red fruit dances through, but not to the extent that should be expected from Sherry casks. Vanilla is undeniably there too. The harsh cinnamon, however, is the dominant flavor. Were it removed, this would be a much more interesting and enjoyable whiskey. The spiciness and fruitiness are reminiscent of Remy Martin 1738, but the former is more prounounced and the latter is less. Overall, it is just way too spicy from the cinnamon and a bit too woody, even in the best of circumstances. Sweeter than Stagg Jr, but the spice and wood dominate. It lacks the depth of Knob Creek Single Barrel. The sweet notes are great when they appear, but there just are not enough of them. Woody to the extent that floor polish comes through. Beyond that, there is some fruit and vanilla as well as the obvious spicy notes. The wood is really too much though; this is not Glenfarclas 25 where the wood is backed by immense subtlety. Compared with Glenfarclas 25, the wood is to strong and the backing flavors are not sophisticated enough. For its price, this is a really disappointing drink. I would take Old Forester Signature over this. You can taste the age in the rich wood, but there isn't any substantial variety that comes out of it. If you really, really reach, there is something going on, but it's borderline hallucinatory. The wood flavor is harsh, but at least it doesn't have an overwhelming cinnamon element. The woodiness brings strong reminders of Jollite VSOP and Glenfarclas 25. Old Forester Signature has more going on, though it also has more of that unappealing mineral flavor to it. Compared with Jim Bean Black, this has a deeper, more woody journey but it's also hindered by its overly woody flavor that tastes like floor polish. Trying it again months later, the nose is strongly tannic from the wood in an appealingly rich way. There's a hint of butteracotch and cherry mixed with wet wood on the nose. The palate is very rich with perhaps a bit too much astringency and a lot of spice. It certainly tastes very aged. The dark cherry flavor really gives it a nice fruity sweetness. There's a big hit of black pepper spice and there are also some herbal flavors with a bit of numbing clove. It reminds me a bit of Glenfarclas and upon realizing that it really clicks for me. There's a ton of richness and a fair bit of complexity with some raisins coming in too alongside cocoa and a hint of cola, but I'm not sure it's what I want in a bourbon, especially at the price point. There's a lot of leather providing the dominant flavor here and there's some rye spice too. It's a great drink, though it's kind of just a fruitier Glenfarclas at a very high price. There's a lot of richness and a fair amount going on with a solid balance. I'd be happy to drink this, but it falls short of being a classic. Compared with Russell's Reserve Single Barrel, this is a richer, less sweet, and less fruity offering. It's a bit better, but it isn't tremendously better. Importantly, this tastes quite different, but for the same price you could get a bottle of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel and a bottle of Glenfarclas 17 and probabaly be happier. It's a 17-18. This is more assertive than Glenfarclas is (somehow) and while it is quite tasty, it goes so far in the tannic leather direction that it's kind of hard to pull back in line.