When it comes to my Old Fashioneds or Manhattans, I have become pretty static and entrenched to using Rittenhouse as the foundation rye. In all this time I have never deviated. So, I was in my local store and they had this on sale so I took the shallow financial plunge, curious to compare apples to apples (or rye to rye). Without any breathing, straight out, dill and pumpernickel greet the nose. Hints of char weave through the dill and pumpernickel. Grenadine, brown sugar and butterscotch keep the nose sweet. Clove and cinnamon spice keep the sweetness grounded. Over A medium dense body, subtly sweet and coarsely spicy. Cinnamon, anise, vanilla and light brown sugar. The earthy spices meld with the youthfulness nature (the slight alcohol tingle presents itself as earthy spices). As it fades from the palate, black licorice and wood char remain and quite chewable. Oak tannins keep the mouth slightly dry. Adding and ice cube or water brings pulls forward the sweetness and tamps slightly the spice. The abv keeps the dilution at bay keeping the flavors in tact. If you want a summer sipper, just adds ice. As a sipper, it holds it own. It won’t wow but it’s steady and easy. As a mixer for a Manhattan or Old Fashioned, it contains the spice and punch to spearhead through and provide the whiskey flavor these cocktails are based. Comparatively, Rittenhouse has that blind punch (strong but unnoticeable) and has a slight better balance between spice and sweetness. I would give the edge to Rittenhouse but would not think twice about using Sazerac as a substitute. [86/100][$28][Tasted: 6/17/22]