What is the sharpest line against the Caro Kann?

how the hell can someone be afraid of the kan, seriously

Ivanchuk has played it occasionally. His game against Jobava was a tactical madhouse.

Indeed. As a CK player myself, DS's suggestion of the Hillbilly attack looks good. The attached YouTube video is nice but it's a 5 min game. The black player was seriously short on time. Anyways, when I'm white vs the Caro-Kann, I just play mainline (I'm talking OTB play or daily on this site) going into the Classical or 4. ... Nd7, 4. ... Nf6 lines. No frills, no fuss. I want to pit my knowledge vs theirs. If they are reputable, a draw is always in the offing. "Sharpest" line? I can't really say (I don't want to divulge anything-heh) . Play sharp is what I would say. As I always try to be unflappable in the face of an all-out blitz, there are times one can make a subtle mistake (in move order, underestimation, prophylaxis...etc) that busts a CK player's psyche. Best wishes

I use the accelerated Panov attack and it's great

Why not the two knights line?

2 knights variation is a great line but we can't call it the "sharpest".

KIA

The C-K and French are the reason Sicilians are so common.  They are not inferior at all just require a different mind set to play well. Where we say we are attacking players and spurn positional play we are admitting to a flaw in ourselves, to favor the easier familiar road even if it is the worse for wear. There is no attack nor tactics without position first. Far too many greats have made that abundantly clear. 

Having said that it is boring and little fun outside of torneys.

I play  advance but not entirely happy with it.

Caro-Kann is a solid choice for Black, and not easy at all to crack. As for your variation choices, and I'd give the following advice:

1) Avoid the Fantasy Variation, because after 3...Nf6 you get a French structure where Black is simply asking White to prove that 3.f3 isn't just a wasted move.

2) Avoid the Blackmar-Diemer setup, 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3. Black just captures on f3 and plays Bf5, entering the Gunderam Defence of the BDG. One of Black's best choices. White's a pawn down for nothing.

3) Avoid the Advance Variation with the 5.g4 setups. Black's defence the most lines in the Advance is based on the coiled spring effect. Basically, the harder White pushes, the worse the backlash is likely to be by a timely ...c5 or ...f6.

4) If you want to play the Advance, go for the Short setup 4.Nf3 and 5.Be2. The point about is that White leaves Black's coiled spring unpressurized, letting him deal with his slight shortage of space on his own. White's aim is to complete development quickly in order to hit Black in the solar plexus with the pawn thrust c4 once he plays the freeing move ...c5.

5) The other option is to play the Panov-Botvinnik Attack. It's not fantastically sharp either, but if Black doesn't know how to deal with the IQP positions that arise from it, White can get a very nice and comfortable kingside attack.

It is nice to give your opinion, but it will be even nicer to give the line instead of telling it exists.

Personnally, I played many time and studied rather deeply this 2.Ne2 variation (which could be called the Short variation, another one) : i've never seen a line with 5 pawns sacrificed.

So I am curious...

The sharpest line, I would say, is the exchange variation.

From what I have heard from Caro Kann players, they hate this Nf4 set up

Maybe the KIA is the best antidote to the Caro Kann.

Not really. Black plays 7...e5! and is doing fine. Alternatively, 6...e6 followed by 7...Bd6 and Qc7.

I like Panov attack,but answer to your question could be Apocalictic attack. 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ne5. It is one of more aggressive systems for white(But it is different from one of the best).

I think that the advance gives black too much potential for attacking d4. I'd say the sharpest line might be the Accelerated Panov (2.c4) or the Euwe Attak (2.b3)

The Apocalypse Attack is good, but it isn't really that aggressive. There are no really aggressive great options against the Caro-Kann. Patience is the name of the game.

The Steiner is a good choice for White, in my view. It gives rise to rather unusual setups, especially if White plays the Bb5+. Theoretically it's about equal, but you get a fascinating struggle which should appeal to most players.

If the Panov is such a problem for you, why play the Caro-Kann? I have a principle that if there is a certain line that I would be annoyed at facing in every game, I need to reconsider my opening repertoire (finding an antidote to the line, and if there is none, quitting the entire opening).