Review #362 - New Riff 8 Year Rye — Me, My Wife & Whisky

A few months after the release of their first 8 year old bourbon, New Riff distillery followed it up with the release of their first 8 year old rye. This spirit was distilled in 2016 and possibly 2015, so this was some of the earliest whisky to come off of the stills after New Riff opened in 2014.

Like most New Riff products, this is bottled at 50% ABV (100 proof), but it actually does not carry the 'bottled-in-bond' designation, possibly hinting that the spirit didn't all come from one distilling season. This rye uses the distillery's favorite mashbill, a slightly altered version of MGP's 95/5 rye - this one is 95% rye and 5% malted rye, instead of 5% malted barley.

Their 8 year bourbon was solid - a little unexceptional, maybe, but still quite tasty, and full of baking spices. Will this 8 year old rye be more of an upgrade on their standard 4 year old products?

New Riff 8 Year Rye

USA - Rye

Price Paid: USD 70 (2024)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 70 (2024)

Age Statement: 8 Years

Strength: 50% ABV

Details: Not chill filtered

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over 3 months; bottles at 90%, 100% (blind tasting), 90% (blind tasting), 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Very mature for 8 years - plenty of old polished oak, even perfumed oak. It's leaning a bit sweet overall, without too much rye grain influence; instead, brown sugar, mint candies, creme brulee, and cherry cola add sweet notes. At times, toasted orange peel and strawberry popped up; there were hints of dark chocolate and leather, too. This is a lovely nose.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick; the palate is mature like the nose, with perfumed, polished oak taking center stage. It's accented by a bit of wood smoke; then, sweet notes of brown sugar, cocoa, molasses, and cardamom take over. With time, more of the rye character shows - peppermint candy, a pepper kick, and cayenne. One-off notes included coffee and leather.

Finish: A little bit more rye character peeks out in the finish - mint, menthol, some soft herbal notes. Oak is still the dominant theme, adding soft smoke, some barbecue notes, some wood oil, and leather... sweetness comes from the ever-present brown sugar, as well as some chocolate. Nice spice and a kick from wood tannins; this finish is medium in length.

Final Note: This is a very good rye whisky - the palate and finish are good, offering a nice variety of flavors, but the nose especially is the star of the show. So much maturity, so much complexity... New Riff is known for whiskies that seem older than their age statements, and that theme continues here.

The actual rye grain character was relatively subdued in the nose and the start of the palate, but it began to creep out later in the palate and into the finish; really, the main focus is those oak notes, full of leather, perfume, and chocolate.

Value here is excellent, too - New Riff's fair pricing model means that this 8 year rye, which has double the age statement of their standard products, is only about 40% more expensive, and it falls well below the $10/year mark. Highly recommended if you can get your hands on a bottle - this is a rare case where we'll be buying a backup.

Our Average Rating: 8.0 / 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: 7.76

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.