First couple sips are hot and biting. It does calm down to reveal an almost creamy sweetness with that nutty taste others have mentioned. Not so sure I like that nuttiness in my rye, but it's unique and grew on me a bit. The rye profile itself is a very pleasant one. I'll come back to sip this again, but most of the bottle will be for [very good] mixers. 2nd go-around makes me less afraid of using this as a sipper. I mean, why not? There's good flavors in there if you're patient. I'm curious to put this head to head with Rittenhouse.