$180? Check
Cask strength? Yup
Ornate ass wooden box? Double check.

Well what do we have here? Another C + S banger steadily creeping up them secondary markets in its second release.

Well this polarizing spirit seems to pull on the nips of the traditional bouton purists, it has a secondary finish in port barrels which usually would indicate the adjunct stout gambit of the spirits world. That is simply not the case here. If you have had the AE rye in rum cask you will know this is a legit spirit even without the showy secondary conditioning.

So almost two thirds of this is straight up alcohol, and the look is a deep burnt penny, and copper tints that show the aging and them port side punishments.

The nose is wafty and a touch alcoholic, but not off putting. It leads to a raisin, plum, cocoa powder and port sherry waft that finishes with a sort of cognac sweetness. It is far from the standard playbill but you will stay through the intermission because the characters are so engaging.

The taste is far from your average cask bourbon outing, but it is in a memorable sort of way, not like the Corti Bros deviant that makes you wonder if it is bourbon at all. It has a merlot and cab grape presence, light smoky earthy aspects like chanterelle morels, a pruney tastiness like a holiday treat, a brandy closer and heat that lingers in the bitter zones.

Again most people won’t peg this as bourbon right away because it has such crazy spoilers and body kits adorning it. At it’s core is a solid offering that may be a touch gaudy for some, but if you like the flashy panache of like an Evo MR, you will nod lovingly at this apeshit offering that covers so many bases that it fails to master any one presented.

Should you buy this? Let’s be honest if you read DDB you probably spent all your Xmas cash from Autozone on vanilla stouts or some shit, but if you see this at a bar at like $30 a pour, give it a whirl you won’t try anything else like it.

Like an amputee escort. WHOAAA.