Letting this open up for a few minutes did it wonders and the higher ABV along with the kick of the rye gives it a nice little punch! I tend to prefer barrel proofs anyway so this is right up my alley. The good part is sometimes when a whiskey packs some heat the flavor is lost which is not the case here. I found the finish to be very long and lingering which I was really impressed with. It may be hard to justify the price tag because you can get multiple other bottles of great stuff at this price point but I do feel this one is unique enough and still a winner in my book! Would I go grab another bottle at this price, probably not, but I don’t regret adding it to my collection. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this pour!