Rating: 14/23 I'm just going through a bunch of bourbons that I'm not sure of the ratings on and giving them another shot in sort of a battle royale. This one is a bit of an oddball because of the cask finishing, but we'll see how it goes. N: The nose is unfortunately lighter than that of Henry McKenna 10, with some more mineral coming out. There's still a bit of wood though, including some cedar even. The spices include cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. There's definitely a mineral presence here and also a dash of cherry, and some meat suggesting youth. Not an excellent nose, but nothing to scoff at. The spices and herbal hints are interesting, but too subtle, particularly given the lightness and obvious youth of this whiskey. I'm surprised by how little cherry I smell. P: The palate immediately reminds me of Jeam beam with that signature minerality and peanut. There's kind of a blanket bitterness in here as well, with a little bit of a cola metallic flavor to it. Some bright cherry starts coming out and it brings some suggestions of other fruits, as well as some rich vanilla sweetness, but the whole thing is a bit muddled, unfortunately. I am getting more rich savoriness than I did in the past, but it doesn't totally redefine this. The palate is smooth though and the age is difficult to determine, so I suspect that it had done a good job of masking a substantial quantity of 4-ish year old bourbon. F: Fortunately, that toasty peanut really stays into the finish. The minerality fades, but the characteristic Beam tartness that accompanies it remains. The cola bitterness unfortunately remains as well, but it at least does help to fill out the flavor. At least the metallic element of it largely departs. I really want to love this, but every time I come back to it, it's too subtle with this big, flat cola bitterness. I can definitely sip it, but it isn't something that I feel compelled to keep stocked. $35 is the most I would pay for this and I really think that it is worth more like $30. At the same price point, Russell's Reserve 10 is without doubt a better bourbon. With all of the sweet fruit and the bitter cola backing, this makes me think of a drink that is aiming to appeal to kids because it is sweet and lacks refinement. Actually, it reminds me a lot of Jaegermeister in that regard. I might actually put this a little bit below Elijah Craig Small Batch. But that might mean that I underrated Elijah Craig. Right now, Elijah Craig is tasting like a solid 15 and could be a 16. There is no way that this is higher than a 15 and it could be a 14. I might come back around on this one, but right now, I'm a bit over that Beam flavor, so that could be influencing this unduly. If I end up back in the pro-Beam camp, that flavor could make this rebound. Right now though, my apathy toward it and the cola bitterness drags this down to a 14.