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Ol’ New Riff Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

Ol’ New Riff Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

Ever since its inception, New Riff has always had a steady release of new and unique products that give their fanbase a giant selection to choose from. The best part? They’ve managed to maintain low price points for each of those releases (none have ever been over $70). For being one of the smallest large distilleries (or largest small distillery, depending on your perspective), this is incredible.

For 2024, they have gifted us a new bourbon and rye whiskey under the label “Ol’ New Riff.” For the time being this isn’t being considered a permanent addition to their portfolio. But we’ve heard that same story with both Balboa Rye and Malted Rye and it seems like those aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Perhaps the marketing team at New Riff will wait to see how consumers respond to these new bourbon and rye whiskey releases before deciding if they want to move forward.

The concept of “Ol’ New Riff”

Ol’ New Riff is supposed to portray the style of whiskey from generations ago – back before automation, cost cutting and strict procedures changed the way whiskey was made forever. When I first hear that, I think of Cyprus wood fermentation tanks, non-GMO grains and extremely low barrel entry proofs (107 or less). After some research, it appears that New Riff addressed some of those aspects while keeping others the same as they’ve always done. That’s okay though, because they take a fairly detailed approach to how they make all of their whiskies.

One of the first things they claim about making Ol’ New Riff is that they used barrels made with wood that hasn’t been kiln-dried. That’s great to hear, but there are many producers out there who are often highlighting their barrel staves have been air dried for 24 months, 36 months or even 48 months. Why did they neglect to tell us how long they were seasoned for?

New Riff also go on to say that the water source they used was meant to mimic the water that would have been used for making whiskey back in the 1900s. Unfortunately, they don’t expand on what that means. They often boast of their water coming from their own private well 100 feet under the distillery from an alluvial aquifer. So I guess it’s the same water that their standard lineup uses. I think they’re trying to highlight that they don’t use city water that has been treated and purified. It’s already known that other distilleries rely on city tap water for their water needs.

I find it interesting that New Riff didn’t mention the decreased barrel entry proof in their release literature. Fortunately, the back label tells us they’ve lowered it from their standard 110 to 103. That’s quite significant and they should boast about it more. For being a Bottled-in-Bond product and knowing that their bourbon started out at 103 proof, why not take a minute to let the consumer know just how little water had to be added to the final product? This is perhaps the most significant piece of information about Ol’ New Riff.

Finally, they talk about utilizing non-GMO grains to create their altered recipes. For the Ol’ New Riff bourbon, we see the addition of Balboa Rye into the mash bill – 26% to be exact. That’s lower than the 30% rye used in their standard bourbon mash. To make up the difference, they use more malted barley (14% compared to 5%) and less corn. The corn that New Riff uses for this bottle are heirloom varieties. They specifically mention Blue Clarage and Yellow Leaming.

The final product

Ol’ New Riff has been aged for six years and carries a cost of $55 – about $10 more than their standard bourbon and rye whiskies (which are known to be around 4.5 years old). Is the extra price worth it for a couple extra years and a few tweaks to their standard formula? Thanks to my buddy Brad, I get to find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose is sweet, balanced and very inviting. I find scents of sweet oak, caramel sauce, a hint of rye. Fruit notes are similar to smelling a Christmas fruitcake complete with cinnamon, fennel, citrus peel and spiced cherries. There’s a bit of vanilla extract that you can find, too. It’s a pretty complete package overall.

Palate: There are noticeable differences between this bourbon and New Riff’s standard bourbon. I can find notes like chocolate, peppermint and strong baking spices. like cinnamon, clove and allspice. A touch of dry oak and leather upholstery showcase the barrel influence while vanilla custard mixes with spice cake. Fruits are fairly abundant as well with apricots, lemons, cherries and raisins all joining in the fun.

Finish: The completion of the sip brings a tannin-forward ending that’s rounded out with with some creamy custard notes and citrus-spice notes.  It’s overall pleasant and lingers for a moderate amount of time. Previous New Riff finishes felt like they dropped off a little bit faster than this one.

Score: 7.4/10

This bottle of Ol’ New Riff bourbon was complex and flavorful. The best part (worst part?) is that it still feels like it could become even better with a few more years in the barrel. I know that you might think that could apply to almost any bourbon but it’s not as simple as that. Some bourbon won’t get better with additional age and it usually demonstrates that by being overly bitter or lacking in fruits and softer spices after a few years in the barrel.

This bottle is different, it’s already got a great profile and feels like it could be enhanced by more oak, creamier vanilla or even a tobacco note. Those could all come from more barrel aging.

Final Thoughts

In the past, I’ve found New Riff’s standard bourbon and rye whiskies to be perfectly passable. For the age and proof, they seemed to compete well against MGP’s bourbon and rye (of which they share a lot of heritage) but would always fall short. Plus, the price always seemed to favor the MGP products. With this new bourbon mash bill, I feel as if the tides could be turning.

The sad part is, if this stays as only a limited release, others may not get a chance to see the improvement that this is to New Riff’s standard products. It might be premature to say, but I think this is the recipe they should move forward with. Either way, New Riff continually demonstrates that they’re not going to sit still and hope that people find out about the products they’re making; they’re going to keep innovating until they can provide a whiskey for every palate out there. If you’re a fan of the brand, this is a must-try. Will the rye whiskey fare even better? Stay tuned for the next review.

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Kevin M.

Tuesday 22nd of October 2024

It's a nice release, New Riff has always done "off the wall" very well, but I agree with you...EVERYTHING about this bottle screams that it wants to be a 10 year whiskey, even down to the label design...They should let this one sit in a barrel for four more years and re-visit it!