I have been wanting to try New Riff for a while and when I read about Winter Whiskey, I loved the name and thought about enjoying a dram by the fire and Christmas tree. This is anything but a traditional bourbon. The corn component is 65% which is a tad on the low side but allows for an oat component of 5% steel cut and 20% malted. Then there's the 7% pale ale malt and 3% chocolate malt. Pretty wild. It's dark in the glass and really chewy. Chocolate jumped from the bottle upon open but went to the background as more of a mocha and other aromas developed. There's a lot going on and hard to nail down but it's a glorious, rich, complex nose. More pronounced when neat and muted on ice but in both cases it varies in intensity with caramel corn, nutmeg and mocha bouncing around. Each sniff a tad different than the last. The palate is a blend of bourbon and well aged Irish Whisky. I get caramel, bitter chocolate, nutmeg, old oak and a touch of vanilla. The old oak lingers briefly. I like this as a change of pace and a bottle to share and critique but it leaves me wanting a more traditional bourbon after. It excels on the aroma which I love. I prefer it neat more as a desert bourbon even though it's not particularly sweet.