Well I guess I totally forgot to follow up with this πππ
The batch definitely is smoky. It starts off strong for sure and mellows out so some of the other flavors, maple & nutty mostly, come through.
This will definitely be a work in progress going forward, but I think I have a good idea on how the smoke/steam should happen going forward. Some of the rice got a bit toasty the way I did it (I burned some of it).
A fun rife for sure and my chest fridge still smells like maple which is lovely.