A rich caramel orange-brown color. If you take it for a walk around the edges or the glass, it leaves a lacing of sticky drops around the upper third. The first sniff is deep finished wood, like a paint thinner or lacquer. The barrel spice is dominant. Gasoline/fusel and broccoli-like sulphurics. If you pull back an inch, you'll find peanut dust. There is a yeast-heavy, sourdough-like component that I guess comes from the wheat. Then you drop a little water in there, I get a little rubber, like a pencil eraser. The dry yeast stuff (wheat?) takes over when the gasoline heat is diluted. The taste is nutty first: almond, walnut. Brown sugar and some earthy, leafy business. The sweetness comes right after, like a soaked cherry. The barrel tannins leave a bitter little pucker. When you add water, sawdust and pencil shavings emerge. When you drop an ice cube into it -- which frankly I would recommend -- you get a kaleidoscope of cherry, orange peel, potpourri, lemongrass, coriander, etc The finish is oaky, with a sherry-forward sweetness. An ashy finish at the tail end, like a post-cigarette smolder. Tanned leather. There is an oily texture that manifests in the finish, like baby oil. For $30 this is a very solid bourbon, although I'm not sure I'm entirely on the wheat train yet. I definitely think this benefits from some dilution, specifically a large ice cube, which brings the proof down to a manageable level and let's the flavors bloom.