Rating: 10/23 I've read good things about this in places and it's been weirdly unavailable recently, so I figure there might be some people out there who have discovered a big secret. I saw this next to Ancient Age on the shelf today after they were both absent for some time and thought about getting both, but decided to go with just this since I've had poor experiences with bottom shelf bourbons (heck - bottom shelf anything) in the past. N: Light. Lots of mineral, light caramel, a hint of musty wood or cardboard, a dash of cinnamon. Something kind of fruity and oily that reminds me a little bit of Irish whiskey. Not a very impressive nose, but there isn't anything offensive about it either. P: Very smooth and sweet. Nothing objectionable here, but nothing interesting either. It tastes young, but not so young that the white dog flavor starts coming through. There's a standard caramel flavor that maybe borders on butterscotch at times, along with some vanilla, anise (nothing at all close to that Jim Beam Black licorice though), a bit of cinnamon, and some mild tartness. There's a bit of woody richness that borders on milk chocolate at moments as well. That Irish whiskey oily fruit comes through here as well. There's definitely an alcohol flavor as well. It isn't bitter, harsh, or laced with chemicals, but it definitely makes me think of vodka. It's also kind of watery from the low proof and young age. Side by side with Wild Turkey 101, the ethanol really does come out and I get more of the vodka character. It has less heat than Ezra Brooks, but also less character. It's oilier and smoother. There's a sort of nectar quality that makes this surprisingly enjoyable, but far from great. F: The anise comes to the fore here, along with a bit of black pepper, and the alcohol of course. There's a lot of mineral and the caramel and other sweet flavors vanish fairly rapidly. Not great, but there still aren't any bad flavors in here. It's sweet and smooth, so it's as an intro and works OK for mixing. I tried it in a boulevardier and the result was pretty good. In this case though, I think that it might be a somewhat uniquely suitable choice because a boulevardier is just a slight variation on a negroni, which is lighter in the usual bourbon dimensions because, well, it uses gin. Side by side with Ezra Brooks though, this is just as light and is also less complex. Ezra is probably not as good as an intro bourbon, but it's definitely better overall. In a boulevardier, Ezra also adds more complexity. Given that the prices are so close, I don't see a reason to take this over Ezra. Wild Turkey 101 is absolutely better neat, but I can understand someone taking this instead in a boulevardier because it's so much sweeter. The Wild Turkey is more complex and herbal, but that does blur a bit with the Campari, so it's at least challenging. I actually might take the Ezra Brooks boulevardier over either of them. The more I have of this, the more it grows on me as an easy sipper. I still don't like it, but it's quite unobjectionable, so I don't mind having it around. At the end of the day, this is not at all challenging to sip, but it's boring. If I'm consuming stuff this bad for me, I want it to actually taste good (or at least be a small quantity and provide a unique experience). For a little bit more, Ezra Brooks (and probably also Evan Williams Black) is a slightly better choice in my book - though I can see how some will disagree. Even those though, I generally wouldn't buy because I can get Wild Turkey 101 for $20 or less. Yeah, it's twice as much as this, but it's quite sippable on its own. It isn't as easy of an introduction for bourbon novices though, so if that's what you're looking for, Early Times may be the right choice. Unless I'm trying to serve that specific situation of introducing someone to bourbon (or far less likely - putting cheap bourbon in a watered down mixed drink at a rager), I probably won't be buying this again. It's not awful (in fact, it's easy to down a dangerous amount of), but I'd rather pay up at least a little bit to get better quality. I'm going with a 10, though I wouldn't be shocked if I came back and increased that to an 11.