New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 4 y.o. - Bottled in Bond

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Straight Rye uses rye exclusively: its grain recipe consists of 95% unmalted rye and 5% malted rye. Rather than supplementing the rye with another grain, New Riff also uses rye for the malted portion. The result is a full-bodied whiskey with pronounced spice.

The whiskey matures for four years in new oak barrels with toasted and charred interiors. New Riff uses barrels holding 53 US gallons. This maturation is combined with the Bottled in Bond standard: the whiskey comes from a single distillery and a single distilling season, and matures in a government-supervised warehouse. It is bottled at 50% alcohol without chill filtration.

Beyond drinking it neat, its bold rye spice lends itself to classic cocktails such as the Manhattan and Old Fashioned. A small splash of water also suits this bottling.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals layered spice with mint, black pepper and vanilla. Orange and oak add subtle nuances.
• Palate: Cinnamon, vanilla and sweet toffee open the palate. These develop into a bold mouthfeel with intense rye spice, caramel and toasted oak.
• Finish: The rye spice remains bold on the finish, accompanied by vanilla buttercream and lingering brown sugar. A mineral, grassy rye note slowly fades.

Distillery/Bottler:

Ken Lewis founded New Riff in 2014 in Newport, northern Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. The independent, family-owned distillery produces, matures and bottles its own spirits. While developing the rye, the distillery team received support from Larry Ebersold, who had gained extensive experience with whiskey made from 95% rye at Seagram’s in Indiana. New Riff added malted rye to this approach.

Whiskey production follows the approach known as the Kentucky Regimen. In the sour mash process, part of a previous batch is returned to the next mash. Fermentation takes place in open vessels, after which the mash is distilled with its grain solids in a copper column still. A continuously operating doubler carries out the second distillation, increasing the alcohol concentration before the whiskey enters the barrels. These methods form the common foundation of New Riff’s whiskeys.

Facts: