New Riff Single Barrel Bourbon

On my Instagram account (@nicesipper) I did a little contest during the last big snow storm in my area. I put three separate bottles out on my deck the night before we were to get any where from 14 inches to 36 inches of snow. Check out my Instagram to see the fun little video I created from the 36 hour period that it snowed….As a result, New Riff won the “contest” so here we are with a New Riff review.

New Riff is a newer distiller/brand out in the market and one of my first forays back into craft distilling since taking a break from it for the past 6-7 years.  Why take a break?  Well earlier in the craft movement a lot of brands were putting out really young whiskey, which I get, because you need to convert inventory to cash in order to continue to operate.  Unfortunately, a lot of it was at a premium price ($50 7-10 years ago was a premium!) and it wasn’t very good.  New Riff seems to have had the wherewithal to be patient, keeping their products aging until they are a minimum 4 years of age.  Their whole schtick is that they are a new riff on the old sour mash tradition so let's see how they did.

Barrel No. 17-1929, aged at least 4 years.

ABV: 51.25%

How it smells…vanilla, very light, a little bit floral, sweet and some mild oak.

How it tastes…starts off sweet with some cherry towards the middle, but cherry coke not cherry cough syrup.  Ends with some vanilla and an oaky dry finish with some spice that builds throughout the long finish.

Price..$50

Rating...🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts…Overall, this is a very good, pleasant, traditional bourbon profiled neat sipper, but it’s also remarkably smooth and drinkable for a 4 year old 50%+ bottle…it certainly drinks older.  I would gladly pay the $50 for another bottle (as you can see, mine is almost empty!).  My only gripe is that it is not widely distributed yet as I had to go one state over in order to secure a bottle.  Since I am rating taste compared to value, the 3x’s 🥃 seems appropriate.  Looking forward to reviewing some more New Riff bottles, especially the Malted Rye if I can get my hands on a bottle…