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Ol’ New Riff Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey Quick Review

Ol’ New Riff Bottled-in-Bond Straight Rye Whiskey Quick Review

My reviews tend to be long-winded and detailed. 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

In my review for Ol’ New Riff Bourbon, I went over the basics for this limited time release (you can read it here). I was happy with what I found and remarked that it was better than their standard bottled-in-bond bourbon. I also speculated that the new recipe they used was good enough to join their regular lineup in the future. There is precedence where New Riff took a limited time offering and made it into a mainstay – look no further than Balboa Rye and their Malted Rye! All I’m saying is that it could happen.

What makes Ol’ New Riff Rye Whiskey different from their standard rye whiskey?

New Riff’s “standard” rye whiskey has a mash bill of 95% rye, 5% malted rye. The barrel entry proof is 110 and it’s typically understood to be just over 4 years old.

Ol’ New Riff‘s rye whiskey mash bill uses 65% Balboa Rye, 20% heirloom corn and 15% two-row malted barley. The barrel entry proof is 103 and it’s age stated at 6 years old.

There is another difference between the two in the type of barrel they use. New Riff claims that they sourced barrels for the Ol’ New Riff collection that were not kiln-dried. Instead, they were air-seasoned; but they fail to mention how long they were air seasoned.

What will the addition of corn and malted barley do to the flavor profile of New Riff’s rye whiskey? Let’s find out. A big thanks to my neighbor Brad for the opportunity to taste this. I sampled it neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet scents of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, caramel maple syrup and vanilla cupcakes. Not as many rye scents jump out at me and I’m guessing this has to do with . Tannins are present, but mainly consist of leather and a strange scent like bark peeling off of a tree.

Palate: Each sip delivers pleasant sweetness like powdered sugar and a soft texture that I wasn’t expecting. Flavors of fresh mint, ground cinnamon, allspice and an earthy/dust note finally start to show me the rye backbone this bottle has. Fruits come from cherries and dried apple rings. Tannins are hard to identify and it doesn’t taste like it has the full 6 years in a barrel that the label says it does. That’s not a deal breaker, but it tastes younger than the Ol’ New Riff Bourbon did.

Finish: The final moments after I finish are mostly pleasant with a little hint of astringency. That astringency probably comes from leather and dry oak. It’s mostly forgiven with heavily caramelized sugar, some fading fruit notes (cherries, orange zest) and spices like allspice and nutmeg.

Score: 6.6/10

Overall, Ol’ New Riff Rye Whiskey was somewhat less impressive than the bourbon was. That’s surprising to me since I kind of hold New Riff in high regard when it comes to rye whiskey. So what happened? I think it has a lot to do with the addition of corn. I find that heirloom corn adds a different dimension to any whiskey that uses it by introducing more earthy notes. There’s nothing inherently wrong with earthy flavors and scents, but they can start to overpower sweet notes and delicate fruit notes if the balance isn’t there.

If you’re given the choice to buy only one Ol’ New Riff label, choose the bourbon. I think the rye still has potential, but it would take more years in the barrel to achieve it. The bourbon is good right now and would probably continue to get better with more age.

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