Tried this neat without ice. Let it rest too. The nose was better than the straight bourbon bottle but not by much. This had vanilla and again that heat/ethanol smell come through. After the 97 proof being so harsh, I braced myself for what I was about to put myself through. The palate was again pure heat and alcohol. Shockingly though, this was lighter on the heat side with traces of caramel/vanilla. With the heat and alcohol being the major flavors, it was enjoyable. The finish continued the heat and the flavor turned sour. The caramel and vanilla was gone and replaced with ethanol flavors. I wouldn’t recommend this bottle or even trying it. Save your time/money and try something else. Scale 0.75