While the aroma sets up a more delicate experience, the first taste of Rhetoric 23 on your tongue comes along with a punishingly dry mouthfeel and sharp, almost astringently perfumed wood notes. Luckily, the whiskey is more warming than the nose would lead you to believe, creating a base somewhat capable of handling these intense flavors. There is a touch of brown sugar and vanilla in front, and then the taste becomes dominated by earthiness. The wood creates more of a bitterness than a newer, more pencil-like oak flavor. A ribbon of smokiness is present as well as dried hay, peanut skins, and a big hit of nutmeg.