The nose is punchy, with lots of alcohol coming through immediately with a slight touch of sweet green apple and a tad of rye spice. The palate follows it up as hot as well, drinking more like a 115-120 proof range more than a relatively mellow 104. I don't get the strong vanilla that others here comment about, but rather very intensely sweet and somewhat tart fruit - citrus, green apples, mint. The palate and finish turn in to a somewhat overly spicy cinnamon making it again feel much higher proof than it actually is. Despite supposedly having less rye in it and almost being the same proof, it drinks hotter than the 4R SiB. I think that has to do with age, as the SiB is closer to 10 years and this is only 6-7. I am overall not a fan of high rye bourbons, but this especially is too brash for my taste, really drinking hot and lacking nuance. Does it have a lot going on, and would it probably hold up great in cocktails? Absolutely, but that's not exactly what I look for personally. The thought that this is $10 more than the SiB is appalling. Reach for the SiB instead if you want to enjoy 4R. This doesn't suck, it's just not something that I myself will ever be buying again.