New Riff Backsetter Peated Backset Rye

Very easy drinking rye. The smokiness is an excellent, not overpowering compliment to the traditional rye spiciness (which itself isn’t too prominent). Excellent balance

Neat. Neck pour. I know the negative buzz on this going in but I am keeping an open mind. On the nose, that peat is so interesting. It does present itself initially as band-aid but the longer you sit with it a smoked cedar aspect shines through. It really nullifies the rye. You get a hint of a rye spice but the rest is muted. What shines through instead is a salted caramel. Almost like a sea salt caramel taffy you’d get from Hilton Head. ...I double checked the bottle and I definitely opened the rye first. Nice and creamy on the palate. Runtz banana candy all of the tongue. Lights it up with sweatness. And I am attacked by campfire. Ah that is interesting. So the sea salt caramel is the dominant taste but then the oils carry the smoke around the fringe of the tongue and down the neck. This after taste is like I am sipping New Riff while smoking a mild cigar. Interesting. I think this is fun. I’m going to pour the regular rye to compare before ending this... Yeah the regular bottled in bond rye is in your face rye. Just delightful rye spice and citrus. Those notes are soooo muted and replaced it’s hard to believe they are cousins. This Backsetter isn’t a variation of their rye, it’s an entirely new expression to be judged on its own. I like it. I want to drink this outside in the fall, by a campfire.

The color has great depth, but not noticeably different from their standard rye whiskey. The scent is very, very clean, with true cinnamon and grass rye through one nostril, and earthy, wet peat through the other. Notably, the peat is actually fairly faint, and is being carried by caramel oak, but it is detectable at the front of the nose. The taste is actually full of much more caramel than I remember their traditional rye blend tasting of, with a lovely spicy barrel finish, and, most surprisingly, no peat unless air is introduced. Breathing across the tongue during the finish transforms the potent cinnamon flavors into heavy Scotch vibes, with more of the actual flavors of peat than the smoky vibe that usually comes along with it. The added peat smoke is much better integrated into this "riff" than that of the bourbon, as seems to be the consensus. Whereas the bourbon is an interesting talking point, this Backsetter is quite impressive, and blends two cultures well enough that I will likely reach for it when I want that perfect blend of vanilla, caramel, spicy oak, and smoky, honey, and malty Scotch notes. Part of me wishes that the bourbon, naturally tasting much sweeter than the rye whiskey, would work just as well as this iteration does as far as the peat addition goes, but I feel that the strong spice from this notably kickass (not swamp ass) rye base is exactly what I look for when I reach for Scotch, being more an Islay fan than anywhere else. Fun idea, NR team!

Nose - Spicy as hell rye with this vegetable funky note. I jokingly have said there's a note of swamp ass and I'm not backing down on that. Still mint and steamed vegetables and wet oak are here. taste - A complex as hell whisky to real extremes. That said a disjointed whisky is complex, but it's not good. This is somewhere between a disjointed mess and actually good. You get all these rye notes of mint and spearmint, and just this rye spice sweetness that I get so often. There's a hint of christmas. Still this comes off young and spirited and youthful. It's funky and weird and odd. 2.0 it's actually pretty interesting and it's so complex I have to score it that high.