New Riff 8 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
50% ABV
$70-75
Website
What the Distillery Says
From our founding in 2014, New Riff Distilling has carefully set back whiskey for long-term aging. This addition to our core lineup of products is the first older expression of our award-winning flagship rye whiskey. It is bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof.
Drawing on our own experience as well as the sour mash traditions of the Kentucky whiskey-making regimen, this rye whiskey is full of character and delivers rich, spicy flavors. The freshness evident here is exception, suggesting a barrel of New Riff Rye at eight years old has a long life of aging ahead of it.
While New Riff is committed to bottled-in-bond standards, we made the difficult decision to waive that status for this release, focusing on a wider distribution network that previous specialty releases. Despite meeting all other requirements of a bonded whiskey, due to the comparatively small production from the earliest years of New Riff, this release blends whiskeys from two distilling seasons aged a minimum of 8 years.
Tasting Notes
BOTTLED WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION
AGED AT LEAST 8 YEARS
100 PROOF (50% Alc/Vol)
Appearance: Medium amber, golden highlights.
Nose: Rounded and ripe with rye grass, notes of cinnamon, clove, red apple.
Palate: Fulsome, medium body; drying entry, lightly oaky with a sweeter core; slow development of spicy flavors; juicy, intense midpalate of spearmint/clove/apple, along with a lovely, aged grassy-mineral quality.
Finish: Long-lasting notes of clove, mint, peppercorn.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rye spice with mint, thyme, orange zest, lime, cloves and oak.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, drying with orange, mint, vanilla, oak, apple and cloves.
Finish: Moderately long and drying with pepper, mint and citrus zest.
Comments: This is a lovely high-rye rye whiskey! The only rye I tried in the “bottled in bond – almost” series, so not fair to compare. However like the New Riff 8 Year Bourbon, this shows that the early promise from New Riff continues to pan out. I’ve been a big fan of a 95% rye mashbill ever since I first tried a popular one from Indiana. Not to knock the ‘barely legal’ ryes out there (as I enjoy many of those), but the 95% rye delivers a more crisp differentiation from bourbon. Most importantly, this is just a really damned nice whiskey all on its own!