Review: New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon 8 Years Old

While they are known for their “riffs” on American whiskey traditions, Kentucky’s New Riff Distillery is out with a new bourbon that’s about as straightforward as they come. That said, it is twice as old as the flagship bourbon they debuted in 2018, making it their oldest rye bourbon yet (a more limited eight-year wheated bourbon and rye made up the High Note Collection last year). Per New Riff:

A new riff on a coveted classic, this 8-year-old expression of New Riff’s award-winning flagship bourbon is bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof with a mashbill of 65% corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley.

“As much acclaim as we have received from the bourbon community for our 4-year-old, bottled-in-bond and single barrel offerings, we knew the real excitement would come from genuinely older whiskey,” said co-founder Jay Erisman. “And here it is — the beginning of the future and the next wave of New Riff.”

While known for their commitment to bottled-in-bond standards, Erisman said New Riff made the difficult but necessary decision to waive that status for this release, focusing on a wider distribution network than 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 bourbons from two distilling seasons aged a minimum of 8 years.

So there you have it. It isn’t exactly a groundbreaking release on paper, but it is an exciting step in the evolution of a brand that built its reputation on impressive younger whiskeys. What has more time in the barrel added?

Plenty. The aroma is packed with dark sugar and fruit notes, kicking off with chocolate-covered toffee, Demerara syrup, cocktail cherry, and clove-studded orange peel. It’s deep and rich and expertly balanced. As things open, it becomes even more dignified with a bit more dried citrus, damp tobacco, and seasoned oak offering all the hallmarks of a well-aged bourbon. Impressively approachable and balanced, like so many New Riff whiskeys, the palate is frontloaded with fresh baking spice and black pepper which charge to the back of the throat and offer up an instantly warming experience. An expert “Kentucky hug” if ever there was one. Rich fruity top notes of orange Creamsicle and cherry hand pies give way to a midpalate of cinnamon buns and milk chocolate, all enlivened with rye spice and gently tart orange peel. The finish is a generous embrace of soft, leathery oak notes, brown butter, and baked apples. Quintessential Kentucky bourbon, and while it’s a little more expensive than similarly-aged offerings from bigger distillers, I’d wager this beats a bunch of them in a blind.

100 proof.

A / $68 / newriffdistilling.com

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