At $79.99 at Total Wine in Albuquerque I won't buy a bottle anytime soon, but I am so glad I received a sample of this rye whisky. If it weren't for the price this would have immediately become my favorite rye (though generally I prefer sweeter, less spicy whiskies). This is a barrel proof whisky, and this particular sample is 108.2 proof. Yet it's not until the finish that the alcohol really asserts itself; going by the nose and taste I'd have thought this was 100 proof or lower. It's a lovely copper gold in the glass. The legs run quickly and long, and a leg will run down in the track of a previous leg. The mash bill is 95% rye and 5% malted barley. NOSE: Rye spice is definitely the first thing that comes through, but then there are notes of vanilla, a slight smokiness, caramel, and honey. Upon putting my nose fully into the glass I detected salt, apple, citrus, cinnamon, something faintly but pleasantly medicinal, and new-mown grass. TASTE: This is a very creamy whisky, considerably more so than anything I've tasted hitherto. It's rye forward, with honey, vanilla, caramel, and oak involved. FINISH: This is long, and begins with oak. Then there's a long stretch of emphatic spice, fading to a smoky oak. This is certainly a rye whisky, but in some respects it resembles a bourbon. I suspect the difference here is that being barrel proof, water hasn't reduced the complexity and washed away the sweeter notes from the wood of the barrel. Whatever the explanation, the only thing keeping this from moving to number 1 on my rye list is the exorbitant cost.