The smell is absolutely fantastic, full of cinnamon candies and potent barrel wood. The initial taste is a bit disappointing, as I'm not getting a 100 proof vibe, nor is the rye immediately obvious. However, after letting the whiskey move over the tongue, I can now tell that, although the double barreling gave a huge boost to the oak and caramel flavor, it really mellowed out Knob Creek's rye product. Now, instead of bright grass and cinnamon, I taste deeper spices, like clove and anise. Given the amazing smell and the strong wood finish, this is a good unique bottle to have to compare other rye bases to.