Rating: 13/23 N: There's a lot of hops mixed with some mellow yet fresh chocolate, spearmint, a hint of more direct menthol, some spices (lots of ginger, then lesser amounts of clove, cinnamon, and allspice), a bit of butterscotch, and a maybe few other herbs that get kind of mixed in wit the spices. It isn't a terribly complex nose, it's somewhat muddled, and the hops make this kind of flat, unappealing note, but it's pretty intriguing and actually pretty enjoyable in spite of its faults. P: This isn't a very balanced palate and it isn't terribly complex either. There's a big hop bitterness that is unfortunately flat, but does have some mintiness mixed in along with a tingly spiciness that just avoids being numbing (well, long-term numbing) and kind of makes me think of fresh Christmas spices. The spiciness is good in spite of being numbing until it starts bringing out some graphite and mineral. There's some milk chocolate providing moderate richness, a hint of butterscotch, and a spiciness that makes me think of rye. I kind of like the sweetness that eventually comes out. I get some delicate cereal in here as well. The overall impression is a mix of refreshing and hedonistic with the hops and minerals staring down the chocolate across a bridge of various spices. The side flavors are interesting and tasty, but unfortunately that flat hops and minerals are tough to deal with. F: The hops remain and so does some spiciness. The chocolate is surprisingly present as well. The chocolate really works into the finish here, making it pretty satisfying, but the minerals make themselves known here, leveraging the cloves, spearmint, and other fresh spices to the dram's detriment. The official tasting notes mention peach, tangerine, shortbread and jam. I think I can kind of get the shortbread and some jamminess, but there is no particular fruit flavor that I can really pick out. If you have a palate ready to be hit by hops (and by that I mean a somewhat burned-out palate), this is actually pretty enjoyable, kind of like a chocolatey rye. It's never terribly complex, but it can be interesting and balanced. Really though, it would have been better if it had been less hoppy. Corsair's products are always at least interesting to try. This one is sometimes good, but mostly I think it's just an interesting experience. It really comes down to the state of your palate. On a fresh palate, this is immature and jarring, so a 13 would be generous and it could be as low as a 10. On a palate after having a bunch of high proof bourbon and rye, as well as a dash of absinthe, a 12 seems as low as it could possibly be and a 15 doesn't seem that implausible. Considering that, it has to be a 13 or a 14. If I rate it just on the post-bourbon palate state, I'm pretty on board with a 14. If I need to combine them, it's a 13. I do want to give it that 14 for the delightful chocolate and other intriguing flavors. I usually try to rate drinks based on how they behave in the best possible situation. Trying a liqueur or cheap spirit? Maybe rate it on how it does in cocktails. Rating an elegant Highlander? Have it on a fresh palate, not right after an Islay flight. I think though that there is a line across which it is not reasonable to accept the limited scope that a drink is good in and I think that this is on the wrong side of it. Requiring drinking a bunch of high proof bourbon first is not the same as prohibiting drinking high proof bourbon first. It requires willfully impairing your palate and subscribing to a fixed drink ordering just so that that you can appreciate that one. For that reason, I think I need to settle on a 13. Still, I am enjoying this bottle. It's a really interesting experience and I would highly recommend trying it (and most Corsair products) in a bar. And if it's the end of the night and your palate is shot, this may be just the thing to end it on.