1 teaspoon of water in a Glencairn glass: Aroma : Perhaps I’m being swayed by the name “Basil” but the first aroma I’m picking up is an herbaceous, vegetal one. Grassy, very faint and fleeting peat moss smokiness. Young corn, corn syrup, light marzipan and a touch of yellow cake. Blindfolded, I might mistake this for a Campbell Town scotch by the aroma. Taste : Quite complex, upfront I get a bit of a cherry cough syrup, marzipan, English breakfast tea. The increased Rye bill here is noticeable, it lends way to a slightly hotter / more peppery finish than one might expect from a Bourbon. Final thoughts : I really am impressed by how complex this is. It really does drink almost like a Campbell Town or maybe even a Lowland Scotch. I don’t know that this would the fit bill of an everyday bourbon because it tastes so different for BEING a bourbon. That being said, bourbon drinkers looking for something interesting and complex would do well to give Basil Hayden’s a shot.