Category: New Riff Distilling

Malted Rye, Bohemian Wheat distillery's oldest releases to date

New Riff has announced the dual release of two 8-year-old whiskeys, the oldest released by the distillery to date. These older expressions of both their award-winning 100% Malted Rye and an inspired Wheated Bourbon join the distillery’s “High Note” limited edition lineup this fall and will be available later this monthpredominately through New Riff's Whiskey Club and across the bar at the newly renovated Aquifer Tasting Bar opening soon. Limited quantities will be available for distribution in Kentucky.For more information or to sign up for the Whiskey Club, visit www.newriffdistilling.com.

Bottled straight from the barrel at 117.9 proof without chill filtration, the Bohemian Wheat Bourbon concept was constructed from the distiller team’s inspiration found in some of their favorite classic wheat beers, resulting in the creation of a Bavarian Dunkelweizen-style bourbon mashbill comprised of three different wheats — from which an unusual two-grain bourbon and a new riff on a beloved Kentucky bourbon tradition were born.

“It really is a quite unique wheated bourbon, inclusive of malted wheat, not just raw wheat as from other producers — with a high amount of wheat in the mash, and no malted barley,” said co-founder Jay Erisman. “It’s safe to say there’s never been anything like it in Kentucky.”

Made with 65% non-GMO corn, 18% Bohemian floor-malted wheat, 10% unmalted wheat and 7% dark wheat, the Bohemian Wheat Bourbon is the product of several barrels that were held back for further aging from the distillery’s initial release of this recipe under the “Maltster” label. A rare example of a two-grain whiskey comprised of only corn and wheat, this release’s “high wheat” recipe follows the standard Kentucky sour mash regimen while also incorporating an additional unique step to the standard process of boiling the unmalted small grains with the corn.

Bottled straight from the barrel without chill filtration and made with 100% malted rye, The Malted Rye 8-Year-Old is a rare standout, also the result of several barrels being held back for further aging from the distillery’s very first year of malted rye production.

“One of the first expressions of older New Riff whiskey, and perhaps, the oldest Kentucky malted rye ever bottled, it bears the unmistakable savor of a fully matured whiskey, crossed with the delicate spice of malted rye,” Erisman said. “100% malted rye whiskeys are still a rare thing in Kentucky and in American whiskey, more generally. At a full 8 years of age and barrel proof, it really is a one-of-a-kind dram.”

The New Riff High Note Series was created to provide a home for limited production runs, one-off creations, unique barrels and other surprises. Both whiskeys are aged 8 years and bottled at cask strength without chill filtration with a suggested retail price of $69.99.

Five unique mashbills aged 7 to 8 years comprise initial offering

In line with the company’s commitment to both innovation and tradition, New Riff Distilling is releasing the first bottling of its Sour Mash Single Malt whiskey later this month. The distillery first shared the news about the Sour Mash Single Malt project in July 2023, but started distilling batches of malt whiskey back in 2014. A bold new concept in the time-honored Kentucky regimen, Sour Mash Single Malt weaves malty flavors with oaken age. For more information, visit www.newriffdistilling.com.

“On one hand, it is entirely different from everything else we’ve ever made,” said co-founder Jay Erisman. “But on the other, it is entirely faithful to our mission to be a ‘new riff on an old tradition,’ using the sour mash regimen to explore another classic whiskey tradition.”

The earliest distillations of the guarded internal project started in the first few months of the distillery’s existence. Over the years, they’ve explored additional mashbills and barrels, filling barrels at 110 proof and letting them age quietly in Northern Kentucky.

Anticipated to be released annually, the exact blend of New Riff Sour Mash Single Malt will change slightly from year to year. The 2023 release, comprised of five of the six recipes, consists of whiskey distilled from 2014-2016, ranging from 7 to 8 years old.

Six different mashbills have been created using a range of different malted barleys and a variety of cask types, Erisman said, which are vatted together into one harmonious expression. The mashbills include four whiskeys made with 100% barley varietals—Golden Promise, Maris Otter, Chevallier heirloom barley, and Scottish peated barley malt—as well as two beer-inspired mashbills based on classic Barleywine and Belgian Quadrupel recipes. Each offers a distinct flavor profile.

The malt whiskeys have matured in a variety of barrels, ranging from new charred oak, de-charred toasted oak, red wine casks, Portuguese brandy casks, classic sherried oak casks, and more.

“American Single Malt is a growing category in the whiskey industry and pending legislation will give it a firm identity — but even within that, we believe New Riff Sour Mash Single Malt is a complex and provocative malt whiskey enterprise,” Erisman said.

Expect a “kaleidoscopic malt whiskey experience,” Erisman said. “Most of all, it is huge in body and mouthfeel due to the Kentucky regimen of sour mashing and column still distillation in a way that malt whiskeys from other regions rarely develop.”

Sour Mash Single Malt, 100% malted barley, MSRP $69.99/750mL, will be bottled at cask strength, and like all New Riff products, without chill filtration. It will be available at New Riff’s distillery gift shop in Newport, Ky., and at select retailers across New Riff’s national distribution network beginning in early October.

Kentucky regimen method applied to malted barley distillation

New Riff Distilling is announcing its Sour Mash Single Malt project, an unprecedented exploration of the intersection of malted barley and the sour mash Kentucky whiskey-making regimen. A provocative riff on a very old tradition, New Riff began distilling batches of malt whiskey back in 2014, in the first six months of the distillery’s history — with the first batch set to debut this fall. For more information, visit newriffdistilling.com.

“Even before the distillery opened, we were talking about the possibilities of malted barley distillation using the Kentucky regimen — that is, sour mashing, open fermentation, copper column still and using a continuous doubler for the second distillation,” said co-founder Jay Erisman. “Malt whiskeys are made in Kentucky today on a modest basis — and they have a historical basis as well — but they are rarely mentioned and even more rarely bottled.”

While Kentucky is certainly Bourbon Country, the founders and distillers of New Riff couldn’t let go of the idea of making a malt whiskey. The concept is inspired by the Celtic tradition but also by New Riff Head Distiller Brian Sprance’s 15 years of professional brewing experience, encompassing nearly every style of modern beer. Through the reimagination of both old-world and new-world beer styles, the New Riff Distilling team set out to produce a whiskey that showcased all the wonderful malted varieties they’ve experienced as brewers.

“Our first malt whiskey came off the still before we’d even been distilling for six months,” Erisman said. “After that, one malt whiskey led to another, and another, and many types of casks … and all that led to a full-fledged malt whiskey program. Our Single Malt program represents a level of complexity and exploration in malted barley not seen before in Kentucky’s whiskey history.”

The distillery has six different malt whiskey mashbills, which Erisman said will be blended into a range of New Riff malt whiskeys. The mashbills include whiskeys made with 100% Golden Promise, Maris Otter and Chevallier Heirloom malted barleys as well as mashbills inspired by peated Scottish barley and two beer-inspired mashbills based on classic Barleywine and Belgian Quadrupel recipes. Each offers a very distinct flavor profile.

The malt whiskeys have matured in various barrels, ranging from new charred oak, de-charred toasted oak, red wine casks, Portuguese brandy casks, classic sherried oak casks, and more.

The core offering will be released in the fall of 2023, comprised of five of those six recipes, melded into a complete, composite whole that is “greater than the sum of its parts,” Erisman said. Sour Mash Single Malt will be bottled at cask strength, and like all New Riff products, without chill filtration. More information on this offering will be released in the upcoming months.