New Riff 4 Year Single Barrel Rye

This is good stuff! Barrel 2581 comes in at a lowly 103.6. Got it for a steal at $46. I can sum up this barrel with these notes - its like a key like pie with toasted graham cracker crust in a glass. Just a ton of citrus and then that toasty graham cracker. Now, that sounds amazing and it is pretty good but i can’t quite say that this bottle is amazing. There os a hint of bitterness and the finish falls flat. I cant help but feeling it would be better if it was a little older. It is not quite as good as my rossville union single barrels, or even my old pepper single barrel. I’m not quite sure if its as good as High West Double Rye which has a better finish, although is thinner. In any case, this is very good and I will be picking up any single barrel picks I come across. If you like MGP rye (you know, the best whiskey on plant earth) then you will be happy with this as an alternative.

The party source pick. Barrel 11542. Distilled June 2018, bottled September 2022. Aaron's is spicy up front with cinnamon, clove, and fennel. Flavor is spicy again with a hint if tangerine and caramel. Overall a really lovely whiskey.

Bought at the distillery Barrel No. 10106 Barreled on 04-09-2018 Bottled on 05-20-2022 Age 4 years, 1 month, 11 days 54.05% abv; 108.1 proof Open 7 weeks Nose - Sweet rye spice, citrus oil, caramel, eucalyptus, cereal grain, spruce tips, and medium ethanol. Palate - Black pepper, pine sap, caramel, clove, dill, cherry cinnamon, dry gain, anise, and orange rind. Finish is medium-long with chewy rye spices, black pepper, oak tannins, medley of conifer and herbal leaves, and medium ethanol bite. New Riff's ryes are much better than their bourbons. I've purchased a single barrel of both, and visited the distillery bar multiple times since I moved 10 min away. The obvious reason for this difference is the distillery is still pretty new and ryes age to their sweet spot faster than bourbons. The other reason is the 95% rye / 5% malted rye mashbill shares a lot in common with MGP rye, but that malted rye substitute for malted barley gives this whiskey a little extra kick and uniqueness. In this price range is easily competes with other high rye offerings. I really appreciate that New Riff produces their own whiskey, is transparent on what they make, experiment with different mashbills, and price their stuff very competitively. That's pretty rare these days for newer distilleries. If you visit the distillery bar you can taste a flight of single barrels for $20. Since my first visit, I just skip the bourbons and taste the ryes and whatever limited releases are available.

Lots of smooth flavor