My parents eat dinner late in the evening. Sometimes, when I go over to watch football there instead of having my dad come to my place, and they're cooking dinner, and my dad hands me a glass of whisky, I'll get the aroma of whatever they're cooking in the Glencairn glass. Last night, they were making turkey croquettes, and my first thought on nosing this New Riff Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye was...is this a meaty rye? I've never had a meaty rye before that. But it wasn't meaty, I was just smelling the turkey in my glass. I bought this bottle for my dad for his birthday a few weeks ago, and he cracked it last night while we watched the Eagles beat the Washington Football Team (are they going with that permanently, how hard is it to choose a new name?). My dad had admired the Single Barrel Bourbon of New Riff's when I'd opened that on my birthday, so I figured this rye would be a good gift, and while the bourbon, being high rye, tasted of rye...the rye tastes like a bourbon! Kidding! No, this rye is even more rye than most ryes. It's all the things you think of when you think rye, spiciness, herbal, mint, and this is where I find sometimes descriptors fail. If it tastes like other ryes, what makes this one special enough to warrant four stars out of five? How do you say it's better than most when the flavor profile is standard but perhaps more intense? Actually, as I nosed it, I got the addition of rich caramel, which isn't always present in rye. I can think of one, Lot 40, that has it, but most others don't. This is a deeper richer caramel than Lot 40, however, likely because of both proof and recipe. There's a minty pine comingling on the palate along with the spice, which serves as a delightful mixture. Having tasted this so close to Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye, I can compare and contrast, and this isn't so heavy with the black tea flavor the Wild Turkey carries, nor is the citrus zest as strong in the New Riff. (I didn't notice a citrus flavor at all; my dad did...different palates, right?) The missing tea flavor could be a plus if you don't like tea, a minus if you do, and that might influence your decision, given both bottles are in a similar price range. I'd say I favor the Wild Turkey myself, but this runs a close second, with a slightly shorter finish. I'd call it medium to Wild Turkey's long, though I suppose when you're talking finish there's always a comparative element. Actually, the best comparison here is with the Knob Creek Single Barrel Rye store picks and not the Rare Breed. It's been a few months since I had one of the Knob Creeks, but I feel these are commensurate on both nose and palate. If you like one, I'd venture to say you'd like the other. You can't go wrong at this proof and this price usually. The Knob store picks used to be $5 cheaper and now the New Riff is $5 cheaper since Knob increased the price. Let's just hope they don't get in a pissing contest where each continues to inch up the tag on us...