Nose is earthy and nutty with a hint of something bitter sweet like a burnt caramel. Much of the same in the pallet with some dark chocolate notes. The finish is pretty similar to dark chocolate bitter sweet with just a bit of alcohol heat. This is a simple but incredibly enjoyable whiskey. Doesn't feel like a 50abv to me but your mileage may vary. For the price this the best value for the money that I've ever had in a bourbon. Rating this against that value, if it was $30 (double the price) I would drop it to a 3.5 but it's hard to find something this good at $25 much less below. Water just brightens it and brings out the sweeter corn notes.