Distillery: New Riff Distilling
Region: Newport, Kentucky
Aging: 6 Years
ABV: 50%
Proof: 100
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Rye
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
Price: $60
Appearance: Dark Amber
New Riff Malted Rye Tasting Notes
Nose: Sweet caramel, toffee, dark fruits, candied cherry, blackberry, powdered sugar, tobacco
Palate: Smooth rich sweetness, caramel, vanilla, dark fruits, baking spice, rye spice, pepper, citrus, anise seed
Finish: Long finish that coats your mouth with a buttery, oily mouthfeel – as the sweetness and fruit subside you are left with a delicate rye spice and lingering pepper
About New Riff Distillery
I picked this bottle up when I visited and toured the New Riff Distillery in Kentucky. It’s one of my favorite distilleries and the story of the brand is really interesting.
The owner of New Riff Distillery used to own a large liquor store called Party Source for over 30 years. He decided that he wanted to build himself a brand and set off on the adventure to create a whiskey brand, unlike all others.
Since you cannot create and sell whiskey at the same time, he had to sell the liquor store to start the New Riff Distillery.
But instead of just selling the store, he decided to sell it to the employees so now the Party Source liquor store is employee-owned.
That is really cool in itself, but on top of that, their whiskey is REALLY good.
Since it’s a relatively new distillery, this 6-year Malted Rye is the oldest bottle they offer. The first time I visited, this whiskey was still too young to be a 6-year so they held off until now to sell it.
This time, I lucked out and they were having their Spring Release so I had the chance to pick up a bottle of this and their other new whiskey Silver Grove.
Since it was their Spring Release, I had the chance to meet and talk with Ken Lewis about why he decided to make whiskey.
He said he was excited to build a brand around his values and wanted his whiskey to be a New Riff on Old Tradition. So far, he’s done an excellent job and New Riff is growing quickly.
It’s one of my favorite distilleries and their Single Barrel Rye Whiskey is spectacular.
So with that said, let’s get into their new whiskey New Riff 100% Malted Rye – Aged 6 Years.
Is New Riff Malted Rye an Approachable Whiskey?
New Riff Malted Rye is a very approachable whiskey.
While some of the flavors can be a bit bold and may shock beginners to whiskey, it drinks very smoothly and goes does easy.
Is New Riff Malted Rye Complex?
New Riff Malted Rye has a lot of layers of flavor.
It starts full of sweet caramel, sugar, and candied fruits on the nose but then twists into a nice balance of sweet and spicy once the rye spices and pepper come into the picture.
Since this bottle is non-chill filtered, it finishes out with a nice oily mouthfeel that coats your mouth and leaves you with a nice pepper spice on the tail end.
What are New Riff Malted Rye’s strongest attributes/flavors?
New Riff Malted Rye has an excellent blend of sweetness mixed with spicy rye flavors.
I can see why they tested with the 100% Malted Rye mash bill.
It’s something nearly no distilleries are doing and New Riff has created a lovely whiskey that is completely unique.
Is New Riff Malted Rye a go-to whiskey?
New Riff Malted Rye hasn’t rolled out in my state of Pennsylvania quite yet, but I could easily see this bottle being a go-to whiskey if I could get it easily.
It drinks very smoothly neat at the 100 proof point, but I would be very interested in trying a single barrel expression of this whiskey to truly give it a fair shake.
But until then, I am a fan.
Is New Riff Malted Rye priced accurately to its quality?
New Riff Malted Rye delivers on its price tag.
At the $60 price point, it offers big and bold flavors that really blend well together.
Conclusion for New Riff Malted Rye
New Riff doesn’t seem to disappoint. Their New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon and New Riff Single Barrel Rye are two of my favorite whiskeys and they’re just getting started.
It’s great to see them experimenting and putting out a whiskey that no one else on the market has done before.
If you see this one on the shelf, definitely pick it up and let me know what you think.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to give this bottle a shot, please let me know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
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