"Upfront is rich with lots of brown sugar, deep toffee, butterscotch and vanilla. There is fruit but it too is deep and rich with plumbs and cherries.
Oak comes in with authority on the back of my tongue in the form of raw oakwood and sharp black tea. At first I thought it might be too oaky but the cinnamon red hots take over and wash the oak right off of my tongue. Big cinnamon, white pepper and a rich syrup sweetness combine with honey are a beautiful juxtaposition to the big cinnamon. By the third or 4th sip my tongue is so tingling with cinnamon and pepper as well as being so thoroughly coated in honey and syrup, the oak seems much more buried. The cinnamon and pepper stay big for quite some time. The cinnamon finally transitions from red hots to baking spice and brings with it vanilla and nutmeg.
This is a traditionally big in your face uncut unfiltered that might have the less seasoned drinker reaching for some ice. But for those of us whose pallet is acclimated to heat and sometimes crave something more intense, and is of the opinion smooth can equal boring, this will definitely do the trick. There’s nothing boring about this flavour journey. I actually will revisit this batch in the winter. After having 91-93 which were so perfect for summer, this one is a little rich and heavy for this 100 degree night. But it is absolutely delicious."