Review #226 - New Riff Silver Grove
New Riff's first ever barrel proof bourbon that isn't a single barrel - this is Silver Grove. Jay Erisman, one of the founders of New Riff, described in a tasting we attended last summer that the Silver Grove name comes from an old bottling of bourbon from the 1930s - part of the greater Newport/Cincinnati area's somewhat forgotten history of distilling.
This bourbon employs a slightly unusual mashbill containing 65% corn, 30% malted rye, and 5% malted barley. The distillery's products are often a bit spicy with their rye heavy mashbills - will the malting process successfully add a softness to this bourbon?
This bottle comes in at 56.8% ABV (113.5 proof), and like all of New Riff's whiskies, this is not chill filtered.
New Riff Silver Grove
USA - Bourbon
Price Paid: USD 56 (2023)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 56 (2024)
Age Statement: 4 Years
Strength: 56.8% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered; mashbill of 65% corn, 30% malted rye, 5% malted barley
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 6 months; bottles at 30%, 90%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Subtle at first, but with time, rich and decently oak - nutmeg, pepper, and nutty flavors add a spice. There's also sweetness from brown sugar, oranges, and even a hint of mango; the softest savory notes can occasionally be found. Overall, somewhat dry, leaning a bit spicy.
Palate: More sweet on the palate - caramel, dark red fruit, icing sugar, and warm cinnamon. There's still some spice, like pepper, an herbal rye kick, a hint of nutty character, and some anise. Oak is again strong, with wood tannins and spice... the mouthfeel is medium-thick.
Finish: Tons of baking notes - vanilla, cinnamon, clove, anise, and refined sugar. Oak is still strong but becomes sweeter, and we get hints of red fruit and raw rye grain in the aftertaste.
Final Note: A very solid bourbon which benefited greatly from a lot of resting time in the glass. While the nose was more dry, the palate became sweeter, a trend which continued into the finish. A classic young yet oaky bourbon, and with that proof point, a solid mouthfeel and oily character. Value is good, too - New Riff maintains their very reasonable pricing model.
Our Average Rating: 7.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.32
Check out our other New Riff reviews:
Review #72 - New Riff Balboa Rye
