Orphan Barrel Rhetoric 21 year old

One year older than last year’s 20 year old release (which I felt was on the precipice of being over-oaked) and the extra year is evident. On the nose the whiskey is nicely balanced. The palate tells a different story with soft vanilla honey caramel dried fruit and cinnamon segueing into dominant leather tobacco and resinous oak on a long dry finish. I fear bottling this whiskey annually one year older is going in the wrong direction.