This is kind of a tough one to rate, as I feel it is a bit of a lightning rod for people. I honestly think there are two ratings - one for beginners and one for advanced whisky palates. You can imagine where each rating would fall, but let's go through with this anyway! This is a light, sweet whisky that honestly smelled and tasted more like a scotch than a bourbon to me. It has a nearly yellow color so it must be young, especially if pink-hued port has been added to the liquid. Port flavors like plum don't fly out of the glass. Instead it is just light, sweet fruit over what I would describe as a light cereal body - almost like a 40% ABV speyside. Fruit is similar to that fruit cocktail cup I used to get as a kid in my lunchbox. Body is thin and the notes don't really change. Finish is sweet and short. You know what? It is refreshing and very nearly delicious. If it was a light scotch, I would consider it to be very well balanced and drinkable, especially as a starter - palate prep. Not a standout, but very solid for $45. But for a supposed bourbon? It flat out doesn't taste like bourbon. At all! And it certainly doesn't taste like bourbon with a port finish, which I associate with sticky plum fruit and usually absolutely love. The port must be contributing the fruit notes, but honestly they don't feel like the right ones. Fruit cocktail in syrup? Where did that come from? Like I said, hard to rate. It's a phenomenal starter whisky for newbies. For a more developed palate its nice but underwhelming and frankly a bit confusing. What to do? Wimp out and choose a positive but non-committal score of 3.5