Correction - Batch 53. Neck pour. Beautiful amber with a deep red hue. Nose is a mix of astringent shoe polish, copper pennies and at the same time warm vanilla and puff of pipe smoke. Thin, hot, tannic and not exactly balanced. There’s an astringent vanilla that peels through but a bitter metallic taste that sneaks into the finish. Once that fades there is a return of the MGP earthiness and tobacco. This drinks like smoking something - something hot. I liken it to a short stem pipe. There’s wood, earth and enough sweetness to bring you back. It’s honestly enjoyable despite some unusual notes. This may need 3-6 months open to hit its stride. ——— Revisit, opened 2 other times in the past month... got more cognac on this pour at first, then milk chocolate, graphite on the nose. Still a fair amount of astringent grape cough syrup, graphite but less bitter/copper pennies than before on the finish. Some underplayed oak and hint of cigar on the finish as well. No burn - but so tannic that my cheeks are parched to the point of tingling. I need to brush up on my cognac but maybe this is all to be expected? If so, this seems more grape than corn based rather than being a grape-finished corn product... if that makes sense. It’s growing on my but not as a bourbon.