Alright, so when I first heard of this release, I was excited to have the addition of peat to an already great base whiskey. However, after bringing it home and reading more into it to find only the barley part of the backset was peated, I became even more curious to taste it, since again, standard New Riff is the tits. The peat can be detected on the nose, but only from a distance or at the very first second; after that, the BiB proof hits and brings the standard NR caramel and cinnamon spice, with perhaps a bit of saltwater that lingers around. Thank goodness I did not get anything resembling "steamed vegetables." Upon first taste, the body seems light, but the proof reminds you that it is not, as it goes down. As I taste for a second time, I get a bit of my favorite peat taste notes, a roaring tire fire. Although this does not last long, it seems to affect the bourbon by mellowing the oak notes a tad, while still leaving the rye spice and caramel from just the barrel char. It's as if this was aged in barrels with both a level 4 and level 1 char simultaneously. The finish is probably one of the quickest one I've ever experienced, with the exception of that tough cinnamon sticking around, which I found shocking. Overall, this is both not so much an impressive "new riff" and also unique to have around, all while still representing the standard NR bourbon flavor to the point where it could be drank in a line of others and not change things that noticeably. This was my first choice to taste before the rye, but as the bourbon option, it's something I will likely reach for less, but show off more.