New Riff New Make Rye (94 proof)

What's better than a proper, classic 95/5 rye whiskey? The rye new make, of course! Well, maybe not, but New Riff definitely already know how to pull off a great whiskey, both bourbon and rye, so it's to reason that the new make is at least half of where that finished, aged flavor comes from. Apparently they have offered their new make for many years now, but I don't recall ever seeing it. I only saw the rye version at the distillery, but it appears they also offer a bourbon mash version, although I'm not sure if that's still in production. Even better, this appears to be just slightly higher in proof than the older new make offerings, and was quite cheap, even if it is a half-bottle. It's not likely that I would want a full-size bottle of new make, really from any distillery, but it's nice to taste through their process, and it also gives a sense of transparency on the image of the distillery. Despite the lack of corn here, there is still a sweet corn and cereal milk note at the front of the nose, but the ethanol and the grain provide a spiciness that's mellow and approachable, yet still present. There's also, surprisingly, notes of a fresh, grainy maltiness, like that of a strong or amber ale; strange that the scent is anything but grassy, spicy, freshly cracked rye as one would expect. The immediate flavor is clean and sweet, but not as much as a distillate with corn in it would be. The spice is mildly present through the burn, but the rye spice digs into the gums, and although it doesn't feel super deep, it makes up for it with the actual hotness on the surface. After getting past the burn, the flavor peaks and finishes with the same maltiness as was on the nose, but even more focused than before; some baking spice, banana bread, even some bubblegum, and the general raw malt really make this taste like a Belgian beer spirit. This did not taste even remotely like what I thought it would. Compared to bourbon, I prefer much shorter barrel age times on my rye whiskey, so I figured the new make wouldn't be that far off from my favorite flavors, especially given that this uses a familiar 95/5 blend. However, this ended up tasting like if a darker, more toasted hefeweizen was distilled into a spirit, despite not using a lick of rye in that or any of the other aforementioned beer types. Given that there aren't any wood oils or sugars here, I can only imagine that ice would only cool the burn and simply make the same flavors more subtle, but longer lasting. Definitely a unique distillate, but nothing I would recommend guests to taste, unless they were also a European beer fan.