Rating: 16/23 I tried this at a bar and was unimpressed. Then I tried it again and liked it pretty well. Then I bought some and was again unimpressed. Possibly vainly or possibly informedly, I speculated that I no longer liked it as much because it hadn't been sitting open for an extended period, maturing from the air in the bottle. So, I left this closed up while I was out of town for several months at about 1/3 remaining in the hope that the air would dramatically improve it. I now know the answer to whether I was being vain and to the question I speculated about with some others in the Distiller community a few months ago: is the presence of air in a sealed bottle enough to substantially change the flavor? The outcome? Substantial air in a closed bottle for several months can cause a tremendous change to the spirit inside. There's no need to open the bottle to bring in new air or let some of the alcohol escape or anything like that. Also, Sazerac desperately needs this time with the air to show its full potential. I was not vain. On to the tasting! N: Some musty wood, spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove), slightly light caramel, and a dash of apple floral minerality. It doesn't smell like the richest rye ever, but it does smell mature and decently complex. P: The floral minerality hits, but then the spices rush in, bringing a backing of wood and somewhat light caramel. I get a little bit of apple in with the floral notes. There's a dash of sawdust in with the wood. I don't get youthful notes, but I also don't get big bold fullness, though there is a bit of nice nutty, oily richness. It kind of reminds me of that restrained flavor that Russell's Reserve 10 has, but this is actually milder. Opening a fresh bottle of Sazerac to compare side by side, the fresh one is more youthful, with more of a sharpness and a bit of meatiness. The complexity stands out more in the oxygenated Sazerac and the balance is improved as well. F: Spices with some papery, lightly musty wood. A bit of mineral. Some light caramel. - Conclusion - This is really a much more interesting whiskey once it gets its air. That's a LOT of air though. I left it for a couple of months at around 2/3 full and didn't see a huge amount of improvement. An additional 4 at 1/3 though - wow, it changed! It's lighter and more floral, but also much more complex with less sharpness. Initially, I liked this a lot better aerated, but now I think it's fairly comparable in terms of quality - it's more a matter of whether you like it bolder or more complex. There is probably no scenario in which I can see giving the aerated version of this less than a 15. I'm really struggling to imagine giving it a 17 as well though. Unaerated, this is probably a high 14 to low 15. I'd land on the 15 side of this, but it's slight. The unaerated form is pretty on par with Elijah Craig Small Batch. The aerated version is a bit better. I'm looking at a high 15 or low 16 for it. It's competitive with other ryes that I've rated 16, but more on the low end. Ugh, I hate to say this, but I think that this is another 16 rye.