I got a bottle when they first came out. 129ish proof I believe, though I saw a few others around town (Nashville) at different proofs. Got home that night. Opened it up; gave it a sip; and almost poured it down the drain. This stuff is HOT. I had a cold though so decided to revisit later. About a week passed and again the same thing. Lots of burn throughout with little flavor. My nose was back to normal so I got my Elijah Craig Barrel Proof at 139.8 proof out of the closet and tried it. Definitely some burn (though subjectively not as much burn as the lower proof JD) but lots of flavor also. I was really disappointed in the JD at first. Finally tried it again about a month later and finally am getting some good flavor a out of it and the alcohol isn't as in your face. Overall it's turned out to be pretty good, but I had to stick with it awhile to get the bottle to open up to where it is finally enjoyable.