I'm not a rye fan, not in the least bit. But I will concede that in a lot of mixed drinks ( most of which are sweet ), a spicier rye would certainly shine. I had initially purchased Smoke Wagon's Uncut, Unfiltered for the task but realized that is quite a good bourbon on its own and felt it would be a shame to waste it in mixed drinks. Enter - Sazerac Rye. A classic that I've never had due to my aversions to Rye. Of course - if I'm to use this in mixed drinks... surely I have to give it a taste on its own, no? Interestingly, the nose doesn't combo punch you with spice. Cherries, orange pith and some darker pitted fruit ( perhaps plums ) mix together with charred oak, rye spice and beeswax. Caramel appears for a very brief moment on the initial taste and then comes the surprisingly sweet and fruity flavors. Cherries and orange pith come back strong from the nose but there is a slight underlying vanilla quality about this. There's some dryness going on here, too - toward the back of the taste with some tannic oak. The finish shines with rye spice and the traditional herbaceous flavors that come with it. An interesting sweet licorice thing happens right before chocolate and cherries take center stage. There's a little bit of tongue tingle in the form of peppercorns. The finish is pretty dry, despite the sweet/fruity hit mid finish. You know something? I don't hate it. Actually this really wipes the floor with some other sub $40 bottles I know of let alone sub $20. Its just fine neat but I have a feeling it will make a very tasty cocktail.