Nose: Spicy and syrupy.  A bit of alcohol burn. Palate:  Cinnamon, but in an Atomic Fireball way, not a cinnamon roll way.  There's a good amount of sweetness on the palate, but the spice is a parallel experience. There's a funky character that feels a bit like sticking your head in an old whiskey barrel and breathing deeply. Finish:  Looong and sweet.  This reminds me a little of their hickory-finished rye in how the finish is so long and syrupy.  The spice on the palate fades pleasantly and you're left with a nice warming sensation that's not just from the proof.  Adding water: This is a good whiskey, but I wondered what the fuss was all about until I added water. Water opens everything up and makes it easier to find all the good parts in the drink, drawing out the better characteristics and taking some of the sharpness out of the heat.  The funk I mentioned earlier turns into a pleasant earthiness or something like an old bookstore full of leather-bound books.  It seems funny to have to reach for so much poetry to describe a whiskey, but this is the most-complex rye I've had. Overall: From the first sip, this tastes like a Catoctin Creek rye and nothing else.  Catoctin Creek has a unique, baked-goods-and-earthy character to it that you don't get with other ryes.  That alone should reassure you that you aren't getting just another one, but at a higher price. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because I wish I didn't have to guess at the proper amount of water to add to get all of this good stuff to show up. Also, this stuff is pretty expensive and hard to find. But you could say worse about a whiskey.