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KWM 2021 Whisky Calendar Day 5: New Riff Bonded Bourbon

Posted on December 6, 2021

by Evan

RECAP TASTING REMINDER: If you are interested in joining us via Zoom for our 5-day recap tasting, the next one happens on December 10th @ 7 PM Calgary time.  If you have not already done so, you can sign up to be emailed the Zoom link for these tastings here. You will also be able to find these tastings on Facebook Live and recorded for posterity there as well.

Day five has arrived! Crack open that door and take a look at the cool-looking bottle inside. We have a Bourbon in this year’s KWM Whisky Calendar, hailing from a Kentucky distillery called New Riff.

Here is a great introduction to New Riff Distillery in video form

You may say that you have never heard of this distillery before? Understandable. We only started seeing bottles of New Riff on our shelves for the first time this summer, and they have impressed us at Kensington Wine Market and consumers, quickly gaining a following.

New Riff Distillery was established in 2014 in Newport, Kentucky. It resides remarkably close to the Ohio River that acts as the border between Kentucky and Ohio. Only a few blocks away is the Interstate 471 and the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, which connect Newport directly to Cincinnati, which is right on the other side of that river.

There are a few things that set New Riff apart from other whiskey companies both craft and larger scale. First, their focus has always been on making their own Bourbon and Rye Whiskey. They have not gone the route of many young craft distilleries by sourcing whiskey from elsewhere to release under their own label. All the bottles of New Riff we have seen in Alberta have been distilled, aged, and bottled by New Riff themselves.

Another thing that New Riff does differently is to focus on Bottled in Bond for most of its whiskey releases. By releasing both a Bonded Bourbon and Rye even though they are a young distillery, they are giving us consumers more information about who made the whiskey and the minimum age of it as well. This is all thanks to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, which was one of the first consumer protection laws to ever be created.

What does the Bottled in Bond Act do? It acts as a guarantor of the whiskey in the bottle as any bottle that carries the Bonded term must adhere to the following rules:

  • All whiskey in the bottle must be produced by one distillery and by one distiller over the course of one distillation season.
  • The whiskey must be at least four years old.
  • It must be bottled at least 100 proof / 50% ABV
  • The whiskey must be aged in bonded warehouses under United States federal supervision.
  • The label on the bottle must state which distillery it comes from and where it was bottled.

Beyond their Bonded Rye and Bourbon Whiskies, we have also seen a few different single casks of Bourbon and Rye hit Alberta with hopefully more to come in the future. They have also sent some of their excellent heirloom Rye Whiskey release called Balboa Rye. The first bottles we saw did not last long.

Mash Bill-wise, Their Rye releases are 100% Rye (95% Unmalted and 5% Malted Rye), which is something you do not see done much in the USA. Having a good amount of Corn and/or Barley as the secondary (and tertiary) grains is the style we more often see.  New Riff’s 100% Rye in Bottled In Bond or single cask form are worth trying out as the combination of their Rye spirit and heavily charred virgin oak casks create something very special.

We are not here to try the Rye though, so let's get back to the Bourbon. New Riff Bourbon focuses on a High-Rye style consisting of 65% Corn, 30% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley. Since this is Bottled In Bond, we know it is also at least four years old and bottled at 50% ABV. Let’s give it a try, shall we?

New Riff Bottled In Bond Bourbon - 50%

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Bananas, peach skins, cherry juice, coconut, chocolate, hazelnuts, cinnamon buns, varnished wood, cloves, and a touch of anise.

Palate: Nicely oily on the tongue with more notes of cloves plus candied orange peel, cinnamon heart candies, lime jujubes and cherry wood.

Finish: Nice and warming with lingering fruit and wood spice notes.

Comment: I love the look of this bottle and really enjoy the liquid inside. This bourbon packs plenty of flavour and wood spice thanks to the high rye content and being non-chill-filtered means it offers nice viscosity on the palate. If you are looking for a Bonded or High Rye Bourbon, you need to check this out.

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, Bourbon, Whisky Calendars, KWM Whisky Calendar 2021

 

 

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