New Riff High Note Collection – Balboa Rye Whiskey Quick Review

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My reviews tend to be long-winded and very in-depth. I know that many readers don’t have the time or patience to read them all. This is why I have decided to create a “Quick Review” format. I’m not going to cover backstories, distilling methods or anything like that if I know I’ve covered it in a previous review of a similar bottle. You’ll find that a lot of these quick reviews will be based on single barrel picks because their backstory is usually the same with the exception of the group that picked them.

Introduction

New Riff released a new line of whiskies called the “High Note” collection back in 2023. This limited run of whiskies was designed to revisit old favorites with a new twist. The first release took their “Maltster” release from a few years earlier and allowed it to age up to 8 years old. They also bottled it at barrel proof. I did a review for it here. The second release took their Balboa Rye Whiskey and bottled it at barrel proof and in single barrels. This means that the proof will be slightly different from barrel to barrel.

New Riff High Note Balboa Rye Whiskey

New Riff’s standard Balboa Rye Whiskey (Bottled in Bond) was an unexpected hit back in 2020. So much so, in fact, that it spawned an encore release of it back in 2023 (with much wider distribution). The mash bill is 100% rye, but really the breakdown is 95% unmalted Balboa Rye and 5% malted rye (likely not Balboa). The grain was sourced from the Charles Fogg farm in Greensburg, Indiana and is known for being a smaller-sized varietal of rye, but one that is perfectly adapted to the growing conditions of the Ohio River Valley.

So how does Balboa Rye taste at barrel proof? Thanks to my good friend, Brad, I’m going to find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The spices on the nose are very much improved over the Bottled-in-Bond offering a few years back. I get much more cinnamon, allspice, clove and even a potpourri note. The fruit notes, which I don’t remember getting that much before, come alive with poached orchard fruit. Not much oak exists, but this has plenty of sweet scents. It’s a very well-rounded rye whiskey on the nose.

Palate: The flavors I find on the tongue really hit home that this is a special and unique rye whiskey. I find more baking spices like I did on the nose: cinnamon, oak spice, clove and more potpourri. The wood notes taste like a cedar plant. Fruit notes are similar to Grandma’s candy dish with those candies that are hard candies that has a little must note in it (kind of like fennel was used in it). Finally, a light layer of vanilla frosting sweetens up the whole dram. It’s very nice.

One of the weirdest things about the flavor is how I’m finding similar notes to some of the Amburana-finished whiskies I’ve had. Obviously, this was not finished with any type of Amburana wood, yet the gingerbread notes are unmistakable. I’m really digging it.

Finish: The “Amburana” effect continues onto the finish with a load of baking spices that reminds me of it with every ending of each sip. A little bit of fruit and wood remain as well.

Score: 7.9/10

While I thought that the original Balboa Rye wasn’t anything special, the High Note version has completely changed my mind. This tastes like almost an entirely different whiskey. The spices are so much more amped up, I would have never guessed that this was related to the first release at all. I was a huge fan of the other High Note release (Bohemian Wheat), but this comes close to topping it in terms of sheer enjoyability. That’s not an easy feat. I think that New Riff really needs to reconsider adding this to their permanent lineup and remembering to bottle it at barrel proof. If they do, they’ll have a hit on their hands.