Time to continue my exploration of Rye Whiskey. After two entry-level bottles like the Emerald Giant and Sagamore Spirit Rye, today I am going to review an unusual Rye, the New Riff 100% Malted Rye. Malted Rye is a rather rare style, which, according to some, is a great gateway to Rye for Single Malt drinkers. Sounds right up my street. But before the review, let me take a quick look at New Riff and this style of Rye.
TL:DR: Leave your Rye prejudices at the door
Score: 7, Very Good Stuff
A New (Whiskey) Riff
New Riff was founded in 2014 in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. In just over a decade, it’s become one of the USA’s most respected new-wave whiskey producers.
The distillery was founded by Ken Lewis, a longtime spirits retailer who sought to prove that proper craft whiskey could rival Kentucky’s historic brands. From inception, the distillery took a “no compromises” approach: 100% in-house distillation, bottled in bond standards across the board, no chill filtration and high transparency.
This might sound pretty standard from a Scottish Whisky drinker’s standpoint, yet in the US scene, where sourcing is extremely common for new distilleries (see last week’s Sagamore review), this is quite unique. Similarly, New Riff provides a much higher level of production details compared to its peers.
Its core lineup — Bourbon, Rye, and Single Barrel expressions, now enriched by their respective 8-year-old expressions — earned praise from aficionados and critics alike. But it was New Riff’s experiments with alternative mash bills and heritage grains that started to turn heads. Bottles like its Balboa Rye, Red Turkey Wheated Bourbon and today’s bottle in review, the New Riff Malted Rye Whiskey.
100% Malted Rye
Malted Rye use is not uncommon in the mashbill of Rye Whiskeys, but usually in small percentages. Due to the malting process, the starches in the grain convert to sugars, which helps start the fermentation. The use of 100% malted rye to make whiskey is, as far as I was able to find, a modern development. And an uncommon one: besides New Riff, Old Potrero in California and Kyrö in Finland are two distilleries making Rye whisky from fully malted grains.
Malting rye can be tricky: the husk structure of the grain and sticky properties make it harder to work with than barley. On the other hand, this transforms the flavour. The resulting spirit is said to have notes reminiscent more of malted grain spirits than classical rye. Softer, deeper, with notes of chocolate, toffee and pastry that balance the typical rye spice.
Does the theory match what is in the glass? Time to review the New Riff Malted Rye 6 years old, and find out.
New Riff Malted Rye Whiskey Bottled in Bond 6 years old
Specs
Price paid: $74.49
Distillation date: Spring 2017
ABV: 50%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Mashbill: 100% Malted Rye
Tasting Notes
Colour: A lovely coppery amber. Sure, there is no statement of natural colour, but since this is aged in new toasted barrelsit is not needed. And given New Riff’s commitment to craft whisk(e)y we can safely assume no E150 was added.
Nose: Almost more reminiscent of a Sherried or Madeira finished Scotch than a Rye. Or maybe an American Single Malt made with a darker malt. Immediately, I get ripe plums, pears, and dark caramel syrup. Then spices: vanilla, baking spices, in particular cinnamon and clove. Some mint, but much milder than a standard rye. There are even some savoury notes, like a touch of soy-glazed chicken, a little bready note, and even some tobacco.
Taste and finish: The texture is mellow, neither oily nor thin. There is a noticeable oak note, not overpowering but noticeable. Then it becomes rich with baking spices, toasted grains. The dark fruit is there, and again a slight savoury taste, difficult to identify.
The finish is medium, opening on cloves and baking spice, a touch of toasted grains and coffee. The aftertaste is slightly oaky and spicy.
Score: 7, Very Good Stuff
This is quite a unique bottle due to the grain used, and as such, I do not have a reference to what it should or shouldn’t taste like. What I do know is that I am enjoying it, and I have come back to this bottle a few times for the pure fun of it. If the palate had more complexity, I’d be tempted to rate this one even higher, but it is already very enjoyable as it is.
After this review of the New Riff Malted Rye, I am sold on the concept that this is a malted grain spirit first and a Rye second. Particularly on the nose, it is easy to get fooled into thinking this could be made with Barley, if not, maybe, for the light green mint note in the background. If you are a Single Malt drinker and you want to delve into Rye, this one might (or other 100% malted Rye whiskies, if more readily available), might be worth a look.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of New Riff Malted Rye I enjoyed:
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