Company: New Riff
Distillery: New Riff Distillery
Region: Newport, Kentucky
Aging: 4 Years
ABV: 50% ABV
Proof: 100 Proof
Mash Bill: 95% Balboa Rye Heirloom Grain, 5% Malted Rye
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
MSRP Price: $70
New Riff Balboa Rye Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Golden Honey
Nose: Sweet honey caramel and toffee, rich vanilla, toasted oak, beautiful rye grain, earthy rye spice, floral notes, rich fruits, raspberry, blueberry, candied apricot, baking spice, anise seed
Palate: Smooth honey toffee, rye grain, toasted oak, vanilla, smooth spices, earthy floral notes, red and dark fruits, light pepper
Finish: Smooth and easy finish but a very rich oily and buttery mouthfeel full of extremely rich rye spices, toasted oak, subtle fruit notes and and a unique earthy rye spice with a lingering pepper spice on the tail end
Is New Riff Balboa Rye an Approachable Whiskey?
New Riff Balboa Rye is one of the most unique rye whiskeys I have ever tasted.
It is extremely smooth and balanced, but also offers an extremely rich mouthfeel that is spicy but not overpowering.
It may be a bit powerful for beginners, but this is a truly remarkable whiskey that experienced whiskey drinkers will likely take a few sips of and want to sit down and really decipher exactly what flavors are in this one.
Is New Riff Balboa Rye Complex?
New Riff Balboa Rye is extremely complex and has one of the deepest flavor profiles that I have found in a rye whiskey.
It has all your typical rye spice and pepper notes, but they’re not the usual flavors you get in most other rye whiskeys.
The Balboa Heirloom rye grain comes from the Fogg Family Farm in Indiana and dates back to the 1940s and was used in whiskeys back in those days as well.
It is grown exclusively for distillation at New Riff and truly does offer a completely unique flavor profile that you won’t find in any other bottle of whiskey.
The label on the bottle says, “It offers exquisite notes of red and blue fruit along with piquant spice.”
I definitely get red fruits and blueberry notes on both the nose and palate.
What are New Riff Balboa Rye’s strongest attributes/flavors?
New Riff Balboa Rye’s strongest attribute is that the Balboa Rye lends an extremely unique flavor profile that is solely grown for the New Riff Distillery to use in their whiskey.
It’s full of rich rye grain notes, fruits, and delicious spices that pair incredibly well in a whiskey.
Is New Riff Balboa Rye a go-to whiskey?
New Riff Balboa Rye is a bottle that I reserve for special occasions.
I got this bottle when I visited New Riff in 2020 just before the COVID pandemic and we were lucky enough to have visited while this bottle was available.
I’m not sure if they sell this bottle at New Riff regularly, but where I live in Pennsylvania, I have never seen this one on the shelf alongside the other New Riff bottles.
Is New Riff Balboa Rye priced accurately to its quality?
One of my favorite explanations of this New Riff Balboa Rye whiskey came from my friend Chuck who tasted it and said, “This whiskey tasted just like a rye bread sandwich. Pastrami on Rye.”
Surprisingly, it is remarkably rye-forward and really does offer an incredibly bold rye flavor, unlike any other rye whiskey I’ve ever tasted.
I get a little more raspberry and blueberry fruit notes that round out the rye grain and spice flavors, but I can totally see where he was coming from.
It’s not a terribly spicy rye grain, but more an earthy, bready, rye sandwich kind of grain that also adds fruity, herbal notes that separate this bottle of rye from nearly every other rye whiskey I have ever tasted.
Conclusion for New Riff Balboa Rye
New Riff Balboa Rye is one of the most unique and flavorful rye whiskeys I’ve ever had.
Every time you nose or take a sip of this one, you’re probably going to get a new flavor note that you didn’t have before.
That’s one of my favorite things about complex whiskeys and this one offers that along with an excellent finish and excellent mouthfeel.
If you see this bottle on the shelf, definitely pick yourself up a bottle.
Whether you’re a fan of rye whiskey or not, you’ll probably find some flavors that you’ll really enjoy in this one.
And if you’re not familiar with New Riff Distillery, they are one of my favorite distilleries offering some of the best Single Barrel Bourbon and one of the only Malted Rye whiskey you’ll find.
Do yourself a favor and get yourself a bottle of New Riff and let us know what you think.
*Side Note: Always upgrade to the Single Barrel if you can. The single barrels are so full of flavor compared to the standard bottles and usually only cost $10 more.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
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Thanks for reading and cheers!
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