White grape | Peach | Cinnamon stick | Brown sugar | Oak | Slight vanilla | Faint tobacco leaf | Touch of brownie mix

Cedar | Rye spice | Black peppercorn | Leather | Slight tobacco | Vanilla powder | Light dried cherry | Dry

Dry charred oak | Leather | Rye spice | Peppercorn mix | Faint peach | Lingering dry oak

15 Stars was started by father-and-son team Rick and Ricky Johnson, who bottle their whiskeys at Bardstown Bourbon Co. in Bardstown, Kentucky. The name “15 Stars'' refers to Kentucky as the 15th state on the second United States flag, which included 15 stars and 15 stripes. Up until this point, the brand has released all of their whiskeys under their 15 Star brand name, and this now includes their First West batches. This new line of First West bottles is the company’s first time creating a new brand line, and notably for the Small Batch and Toasted Oak releases, the first time 15 Stars is using its own distillate in a blend.

For the first three First West releases, the company focused solely on bourbons. The Small Batch release consists of 25 barrels or fewer per batch, ranging in age from 5 to 7 years. The company stepped away from their traditional bottle design, instead bottling the whiskey in a unique, old-timey-looking glass bottle that has “designs inspired by the first bottles crafted in Kentucky and used for whiskey.” While 15 Stars batches usually carry double-digit age statements, the company’s new First West line will focus on flavor versus age. "In place of double-digit age statements seen with 15 Stars, we are able to bring extra flavors into the First West lineup with our heritage grains and continue to use our process of Flavor Proofing to create never-before-crafted blends.”

The sip starts off with bright and lively sweet scents that blend in more classic bourbon notes, resulting in an intriguing and pleasing aroma. Things take a quick turn as you transition to the palate, revealing earthy notes that lean heavily into the dry side, along with rye spice and a light dried cherry note, which adds a touch of sweetness. The bourbon ends by focusing on dry spicy notes, sans for a faint peach note, which quickly loses the battle before giving in to a lingering dry oak note. Overall, the bourbon starts strong and intriguing thanks to its sweet notes, but as the sip goes on, the focus on dryness tempers the goodwill it builds up front, resulting in an average overall sip.