Review #427 - New Riff Red Turkey Wheat Bourbon

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

New Riff has done many experiments at this point with heritage or heirloom grain varieties - different strains, changing the mashbill proportions, and other variations. The distillery is generally known for their high-rye bourbons and rye whiskies, but they do also occasionally produce wheated bourbons - here's one example.

New Riff's Red Turkey Wheat was launched in late 2021 through their online bourbon club. It's a bottled-in-bond bourbon, so we get a strength of 50% ABV (100 proof), and we know that it's at least 4 years old - in fact, they tell us that this was aged for 5 years. The mashbill used for this release was 70% corn (a bit higher than they usually would use), 25% Turkey Red wheat, and 5% malted barley.

Turkey Red wheat, also called Hard Red Winter wheat, is an heirloom varietal that was more popular back in the late 1800s, though it has been preserved in smaller amounts for industries like distilling and baking. It originally was transplanted into the Americas in Kansas, brought overseas from Eastern Europe by refugees seeking freedom from religious oppression.

Often used in bread baking, Turkey Red has a protein content around 10%, putting it in the middle of the range of the different baking-quality wheat types. It's known for bringing sweet and nutty flavors to food - will those notes translate to a whisky?

New Riff Red Turkey Wheat Bourbon

USA - Bourbon

Current Locally Available Price: USD 170 (2024, based on recent auction results)

Age Statement: 5 Years

Strength: 50% ABV

Details: Not chill filtered

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 1 month; bottles at 30% and 50% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Soft with subtle sweetness and some floral character. Plenty of vanilla, and there's a decent amount of grain influence and cinnamon - Cinnamon Life cereal. The grain also has a bit of a savory side, and then a sweet cream note develops, growing stronger with time. At the end, hints of oatmeal and brown sugar remain.

Palate: A medium mouthfeel; more warming and spicy than expected, lots of cinnamon, white pepper, and a medium level of oak. More of that floral grain returns from the nose, and we get hints of sweetness from caramel. Late in the palate, that oak develops a polish note.

Finish: Both soft and peppery - an interesting juxtaposition. Soft grain notes and vanilla, white bread, cinnamon oatmeal, and burnt sugar all mix in the aftertaste; it's a medium length finish.

Final Note: This is an interesting whisky - lots of focus on baking notes and grains, and we get a strong cinnamon note across all phases of the tastings. A decent bourbon, but not one we would reach for all the time; this could be more of a mood whisky for us.

Value at the original MSRP of $50 would be decent, but now that the limited release is several years old, we can only obtain it via the secondary market. It's difficult to find consistent prices, but as far as we can tell, it's generally over $150 at auction for this special release - not great value at that point.

Our Average Rating: 6.3 / 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: 4.51

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.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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