Kentucky’s craft darling New Riff has been rolling exhausting eights these days. Their limited-edition Excessive Notice Assortment featured a pair of 8-year-old choices final fall, adopted by a extra broadly accessible 8-year-old bourbon within the spring and now this, an 8-year-old expression of their Kentucky straight rye. This is identical 95/5 recipe rye that New Riff unveiled manner again in 2019, and whereas it has nonetheless been distilled and aged by the Covington-based distillery, it doesn’t carry the bottled in bond designation like these earliest choices owing to the necessity to mix two distilling seasons to permit for a wider launch (additionally true for the 8-year-old bourbon). We had been actually impressed by the youthful rye when it debuted. How does it style at twice the age?
The nostril is much less inexperienced and brilliant than the unique. Gone are the bell pepper and citrus notes with that added barrel ageing contributing layers of heat baking spice, toffee, and seasoned oak as an alternative. There’s nonetheless loads of vibrant rye spice at work, nevertheless, with high notes of minted syrup, black tea, and cracked peppercorn that solely construct as issues open. It’s an exceptionally balanced and soothing aroma. On the palate, issues kick off with extra pepper and baking spice, a little bit of cool wintergreen, and various oak. It’s surprisingly recent for an eight-year-old rye and solely turns into extra so on the midpalate with lemon balm and inexperienced tea arriving in time. The spice builds throughout the sip as do the barrel notes which sharpen only a bit right into a beneficiant end of pine resin, cloves, and pink peppercorn. I would nonetheless favor the youthful rye only a bit extra, however that is one other spectacular, well-aged addition to the New Riff lineup.
100 proof.
A- / $70
New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye 8 Years Outdated (2024)
$70
