I’m not enough of a rye guy to know what experts think of this. Nor do I care. I love this. It’s one of the only bottles of whiskey that the nose actually stopped me in my tracks the first time I tasted this as an experienced whiskey drinker. At all times I keep on hand about 5 bottles of rye, 5 bottles of cognac, 10 bottles of Irish whiskey, 20 bottles of scotch and 50 bottles of bourbon. You can tell where my passion lies. However I would consider this bottle second to none that I own.