My avoidance of this (and any “craft” bourbon, really, until trying Tom’s Foolery for the first time (and loving it)) goes back to the time OYO was populating the shelves at my local. Then Little Fish dropped one of my top 10 imperial stouts (and #1 most revisited) of 2020, Barrel Aged Batch 300, which was aged in barrels that held this bourbon. I couldn’t ignore this bottle any longer. I lament my previous dismissal. The nose is both layered and concise. It’s velvety (if a collection of smells can even have a texture, but it’s already a point in a bourbon’s favor to induce synesthesia), exuding aromas of cream pie, shoe leather, Cracker Jacks, and cedar in fragrantly harmonious proportions. Cedar notes come forward on the palate, supported by caramel nougat and a light, softly smoky char that rides itself out into a (I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna say the forbidden word) smooth finish. A promising first impression has deepened into a lasting affinity as I’ve sat with this bourbon over the past week. There will be a bottle of this on my shelf for as long as I can find it and I won’t be glossing over Middle West in the future.