I'm definitely not proud of having this one, just based on the background. I already don't think very highly of 1792, given some of the other products in their line, whether by taste or otherwise. And then there's this, which I've only ever seen once, in a tiny liquor store while working across the country, to which I passed. When I saw it on the "overhyped" counter (otherwise known as allocated) of a more local store, I passed again, until I noticed the pretty cheap price for a good age and great proof. I carried it with me to consider it further, and in less than 5 minutes, the entire counter of over a dozen bottles was cleared. As disgusting as it was to keep carrying it, I wasn't going to let a wooly get it, so here I am. The black label on the bottle was a good choice, as it matches the excellent deep color of the whiskey itself. The scent burns through me, and forces me to reel back to take a breath... This is a great start. I got rye spice on the nose as well, but this could very well just have been alcohol burn instead. Otherwise, there is easy tobacco, vanilla, and toffee. Once you get past the potent burn (which actually occurs on the finish, but part of my initial tasting process), the flavors are easier to detect. Honestly, I'm getting classic bourbon notes, like rye mint, caramel, vanilla, barrel char, tobacco, etc, but a much higher intensity, which makes sense if this is just Small Batch 1792 but barrel proof and potentially longer age. No surprise, but the finish coats the mouth and seemingly never leaves, which is always welcome to me given how hard it is to find whiskeys of this high a proof (and especially be affordable). Yeah, it's really hard to hate on this one, and I truly don't. Knowing that I bought it for $51, I wouldn't pay a cent more for it, but would gladly buy again so long as it didn't require 16 levels of clearance to enter the top secret zone that is liquor stores that sell it.