I know it's not a southern U.S. bourbon, but I really enjoy the standard Mayor from Valentine in Michigan. I usually have a bottle open for an occasional pour. This bottle was a special relase as single barrels to high volume stores. Seeing a barrel strength offering was right up my alley and took some searching since they didn't last long on the shelves. Nose on this is a bit deceiving because there isn't a heavy ethanol presence despite the high proof. Definitely sense some vanilla and maybe a hint of cinnamon. First sip comes like a crescendo of flavor and heat. An intial hint of vanilla gives way to a bit of burnt caramel. There is almost a smokiness in this that you wouldn't expect from an American whiskey. Overall I didn't like this nearly as much as I hoped and it was not nearly as good as the 5 yr Rye released at the same time. I wanted to love this, but only found it to be pretty good.