Neat. Neck pour. Batch 2. This bottle design is impressive! For $35, it’s this nice glass with a heavy top, a front plate telling the year of distillation, and a cool neck tag. Honestly, I can’t believe the packaging didn’t Jack the price up $5 buck. Been buying Castle and Key vodka to help support them, but at $35 my expectations for this rye are not high. I am pleased to see the 99 proof. Now that is rye. That is straight rye bread. The most straightforward rye in a rye whiskey. Slight vanilla and very subtle clove and citrus undertones. Not much here. Fresh rye bread. Mouth feel is nice. Not immediately inviting or creamy but not thin either. Spicy on the tongue. Lots of pepper, hint of mint. Transitions into a rye bread punch. Finish brings back the vanilla and hint of orange. The finish once the rye subsides is its best quality. Heavy rye after taste. Strangest rye. It’s essentially just rye bread. No dill. No black licorice. No bourbon qualities or enough sweet to balance. Rye bread. Its disappointing but I won’t write them off on this. Just not a hit out the gate like a New Riff or Peerless or Wilderness Trail.