Sharp nose, a bit of heat, fresh ground/cracked spices—cinnamon, pepper, allspice—and hot sugar about to caramelize. There’s nothing soft here. The first crash on the tongue isn’t soft either; it’s rushing bonded heat, insistent pepper, and dry oak. Wait a bit, and it calms as you finally find the corn and the mouth widens, then slides into a dryer, lasting finish. Pretty wild ride for a wheated bourbon.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Fall 2014)