New Riff 4 Year Single Barrel Rye

Tasted mint, which threw me off.

Barrel # 16-11542. 104.6 proof. As this is a single barrel, your mileage may vary. Here is mine: Nose is pungent and herbaceous with hay, spearmint, lemongrass, anise, pepper, and a bit of troublesome ethanol. While it’s not a bad nose, what is missing here is any kind of sweet note to give it balance; instead you are blasted with herbs. Palate is a vast improvement as it opens with a deep, rich amber/dark amber honey nowhere to be found in the aroma. (If you have never had a darker honey, some of the individual components present here are butterscotch, peach, cocoa, plum, and hazelnut) All the herbal notes in the nose are then present in the mid-palate but that honey carries all the way through to the finish and is very welcoming. Finish is nice and long with white pepper, clove, wintergreen, and light oak. Mouthfeel is a little on the grainy side; maybe a little harsher than it should be. A real mixed bag here; nice palate and finish, lacking in nose and mouthfeel. Maybe it’s just a little young and a few of these flaws can be fixed with a little more aging. I did enjoy the interplay of the honey with the herbals; they might have something here. Would love to try a 6-8 year version of this. As it stands, for $63 I feel that it’s a little pricey compared to say a Knob Creek 115 proof pick or Rare Breed rye. Just falls short of a rebuy, but I will be watching…

Nose: brown sugar notes and a hint of spearmint transitioning into creamy butterscotch Palate: sweeter than the average rye with slight cinnamon notes Finish: light to moderate burn on the way down - this particular barrel was bottled at 104 proof - fairly long-lasting finish A good rye... like the new riff single barrel bourbon, this offering brings some unique flavors within its profile, particularly for a newer distillery operation

Sweetness leading to heat and some sourness