This was a birthday buy. Has sat on the shelf for what feels like a year and price dropped to $160 from $175 so I went for it. The label is a bit lacking - KY straight bourbon but no age statement. Rumored to be a blend of KY 12y (18% rye) and KY 5 1/2y (12% rye) bourbons. Distillery not disclosed. Unclear when the blend is married but the whiskeys undergo Franken-barreling using toasted staves and either alternating #2 or #4 staves from Kelvin cooperage. Sounds like the whiskey is blended, aged an additional 5 months in one of the two Franken-barrels and then remarried somehow. Bottle #2598 of 2700 bottles and 57.8 proof (115.5). Non-chilled filtered. Nice medium amber color. Pop -> vanilla bomb. Oak char and spearmint follow. Cherry juice, pink pencil eraser shavings, pound cake all come around. Deep within the glass is a whiff of ethanol. Cool on entry and then a building heat and tingling spice wave toward before a thick, sweet finish sets in. The front is filled with campfire smoke, clove, cardamom and loads of vanilla. There is a thick mouthfeel with a mineral quality earthiness. I can’t quite nail it - something between black tea and blonde coffee. There’s a faint fruitcake note with stewed strawberries after several sips but the wood, earthiness and vanilla predominate. For the price? It hits some very good notes with the mouthfeel, char and mineral earthiness. There’s a satisfying balance between sweetness and char but I would like more. More what I can’t say exactly - perhaps raisin, tobacco and a few lighter fruit or fresh brown sugar flavors that are lost in the heaviness of it all. Admittedly I’m imaging a very good bourbon that may not exist. Expectations are often out of line with reality. If price wasn’t a factor I’d be very, very happy but not ecstatic about this one. Price factored in I’m still happy to pour this again and again but wouldn’t buy another. Perhaps next to an open campfire this would come alive, more data is needed before final verdict. ——————— After further data, I’m gonna nickname this one “Toasted Barton Barrel Strength” because frankly that’s what I believe it is. Second go I picked up that old brown banana ester more on the nose and palate that makes me think Barton, as well as their wealth of old stock and friendly approach toward NDPs. Better than the first pour, hopefully that trend continues.