Smells like a straight bourbon on the nose, with cream corn and a hint of vanilla. Rye only comes out after it's been in the glass a while, and subdued at that. A soft rye. The front of the palate is incredibly gentle, with a gentle roll across the tongue, almost like you're having fresh rye bread out of the oven. The taste really does unfurl and grow with a sparkle of spice before a little of the rum influence kicks in near the finish. There's no burn in the finish either. A very pleasant rye that doesn't bring a lot of the rum finish to the table outright but then again it doesn't need to. The gentle rye extends from nose to palate to finish without ever overawing. A great intro to rye for the price with something left to enjoy for the connoisseur.