In his latest YouTube installment, Fred Minnick reviews the E.H. Taylor Bottled-In-Bond 15 Year Bourbon, the newest addition to the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.

He starts the video by showing off a copy of his forthcoming book, Bottom Shelf: How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life, which is now available for pre-order and will be officially released Feb. 17. He also provides an update on his annual whiskey ranking as well as his recent eye surgeries.

As he gets into nosing the E.H. Taylor, he quickly finds nuttiness, raisins, caramel and a little oak – plus another aroma that he likens to mouthwash. 

“That’s a weird thing to be smelling,” he remarks, “especially in, you know, a BTAC release.”

He goes so far as to get a new glass to make sure it’s not an anomaly, but the aroma persists.

“You could make the argument that it’s alcohol,” he says. “But for me it’s just a step extra, like the alcohol-oriented mouthwashes like Listerine.”

He then takes a first taste and says, “Well, thank god I’m not tasting Listerine, because that would suck.”

Cinnamon at the back of the palate, along with a little anise, “like herbal candy.” He later detects dried apricot, brown sugar a little bit of jalapeno.

“Wrigley Spearmint Gum. This does not taste like I was expecting a 15-year-old E.H. Taylor to taste,” he says.

He concludes that it’s not as good as George T. Stagg: “It’s not even close to Stagg. I’m not wowed by it, and I love a lot of 100 proof stuff.”

Watch the full review below.

Read more: Pre-order Fred Minnick’s New Book, ‘Bottom Shelf’