Tastes

I struggle with the general positivity for the fusion series. Disclaimed. Nose is caramel, vanilla, sugar. Body is cinnamon, caramel. There’s something bright there, at least in mouth feel. If I force the issue: tangerine. But it really is more of a feel that a flavor. Finish is more cinnamon, with a bit of cocoa. Medium in terms of burn. It’s very oily, but I ain’t mad about it. This is a perfectly fine bourbon. But. This is priced in the same region as things like RHF. Blantons. OWA. Henry McKenna 10. Bakers 7. EHT, ELT… do I need to go on? This is not of the same level of quality as those. It’s less good than a dozen bourbons that cost $20 less. This is the only product line from Bardstown that is massively overpriced. Origin series: perfect. Finished series: $$$$ but I’ll argue for them. Discovery series: totally fine by me. But this one is all wrong. Every time I try one I think: “This is a fine bourbon… that should cost $50.”

This deserves more time than I’m giving it, so perhaps I can revisit one day. Nose is sugar, salt, honeydew melon. Body is caramel, lemon cookie. Bit of strawberry. Finish is brine, coffee. This is delightful. Hard to love it too much next to other New Riff ryes, but that lemon cookie was a first for me.

Nose is roses. Caramel. Sugar. Body is cherries, vanilla, syrup. Finish is mint, cinnamon, baking spices. Bit of chocolate. Very juicy body, very enjoyable bourbon. Reminiscent of 1792, in a good way.

Nose is lemon, salt, dill. It’s floral too. Body is strawberry, chocolate, grain. Finish is more chocolate, with mild black pepper. Some walnuts on the finish too. This is tasty and unique, but I can’t help feeling like its a bit overpriced.

Nose is orange peel, syrup. Bread. Body is grain, oat, brine. Cedar. Salt. Leather. Finish is vanilla, sugar, lemon, with more brine. This tastes a bit younger and harsher than I normally want, but I think it’s a fine whiskey. Won’t buy again, won’t turn my nose up at you if you do.

Nose is orange peel, syrup Body is grain, oat, brine. Finish is vanilla, sugar, lemon, with more brine. This is underwhelming. I do think the rye blended in is what provides the brine notes, and the citrus notes are nice (I assume they’re from the French Oak finish). But the basis of this bourbon is very young tasting—undeveloped. It calls itself a straight bourbon, but I can’t believe that this made it much past that 2-year mark. I think this is what happens when you show off some decent finishing skill on a weak base.

Quickie: Nose is lemon, sugar, cedar. Body is salt, leather, dust. Bit of cherry cola. Finish is cinnamon, cough syrup. Herbal tea. Solid product, per usual from New Riff!

Nose is roses, salt, lemon, and… this is going to sound weird… raw chicken meat. I stand by it. Body is cherries (medicinal), mint. Best vibe would be cherry-flavored tooth paste. Orange too. Spearmint. Finish is menthol, spearmint, with a hint of lemonade at the very end. The best part about this drink is at the very end. This finish leaves my mouth feeling crisp and clean, and the lemonade taste is pleasant. It’s a bit strange, but I dig it. The body is a bit strange in a less-good way, but the weirdest part (and this is really weird to me) is that this tastes nothing like piggy back. If you asked me to blind ID this whiskey, I’d probably get that it was a rye. There’s a chance I’d get that this is Whistlepig. But I love piggy back, and this ain’t it. I’m equal parts disappointed by that fact and intrigued by how the heck they did this.

Nose is dill, sour lemon. Sugar. Jelly. Body is chocolate, cream. Roses. Grapefruit. If you think that sounds busy… yes. Finish is chocolate, baking spices. Caramel. Toffee dessert vibes. This is a tasty rye. It I’m being honest with myself, it lost marks for… flavor loudness? Is that a thing? I often criticize whiskeys that lack complexity, but this is different. It’s complex with good flavors, but it’s just a lot of sharp notes all at once. It feels like work to drink more than a couple of ounces, and I’m going to switch over to something easier now 😵‍💫

Nose is a dill bomb. Think willet 4 year rye. There’s salt too. Brine. Honeydew melons. Body is pickles, orange, powdered sugar. Finish is dark chocolate, cinnamon. It’s hard to draft a list of ryes that are this good and this inexpensive. I’m coming up with: Bulleit, WT101, Sazerac, New Riff… and that might be it. That’s the company that this is in, and I think it belongs there. Solid rye. Very impressive!