Rittenhouse Rye is my go to rye whiskey for cocktails. As a cocktail ingredient, you cannot find a better rye whiskey. It has the strength to stand up in cocktails and decent spice but not overwhelmingly so. As a sipping rye whiskey, its probably not something you will reach for much, but there is a reason nearly every cocktail recipe that calls for rye whiskey uses Rittenhouse Rye. The nose doesn't have much going on, some grain notes, but it's pretty mellow. The palate is where the spice kicks it up a notch and I start to get some stone fruit and white pepper. The finish is definitely pretty hot, which is probably its biggest downfall, although not completely surprising when you consider it's 100 proof. I wouldn't say it's a bad everyday sipper especially considering the price, but you will feel the heat on the finish which may be a bit much for some. I will say I'm not one to drink rye whiskey neat all that often, I tend to lean toward bourbon or scotch if I'm going to drink whiskey, but the value again is where Rittenhouse can plant it's flag. Would I recommend someone pick up Rittenhouse Rye? It would depend on what they plan to do with it. If they plan to make cocktails with it, absolutely, it would be my top rye whiskey choice. If they plan to sip this neat and they are looking for complexity, you probably should look elsewhere. However, if you want a value everyday sipper, this wouldn't be a bad choice. I rated it a 4, but again that is because of how valuable it can be in cocktails and the value (good luck finding a bottled in bond rye whiskey for under $30), as a sipper it leans more towards a 3.