New Riff Malted Rye Whiskey

ABC - $64.99 

TW - $61.99

Class VI - Not Available

ABV - 50%

6 Years

15 Dec 25

New Riff Distilling Company

From the VA ABC website:  “An extremely approachable yet complex expression of American Rye. Made from 100% Malted Rye, this unique whiskey offers a gateway to the Rye category as well as new experience for connoisseurs.”

I’d agree - it’s very approachable. My first sip was genuinely surprising. I hadn’t tasted a rye quite like this, and I was impressed. This is what I’d call a true sipping rye - it would get lost in a cocktail, where its subtle character would be overshadowed. 

New Riff describes their Straight Malted Rye Whiskey as Bottled in Bond and non–chill filtered, made entirely from malted rye.  From their website, “New Riff Straight Malted Rye Whiskey Bottled in Bond Without Chill Filtration. This style of whiskey is made of 100% malted rye grain, which is quite rare, even in today’s craft distilling scene. Malted rye is rye grain that has undergone the process of malting. When you malt a grain you alter and, arguably, improve and refine its flavor.” 

New Riff Malted Rye Tasting Notes

Nose—savory, floral fruit, powdered sugar, balanced oak and vanilla fruits (plum skin, pear), everything complex and layered

Palate—plump, rounded medium-full palate; finely dovetailed elegant spices; saltwater taffy, fruits, clove, and an interesting toasty-malty note

Finish — focused spice with clove and pink peppercorn. Elegant and refined.

For those who enjoy diving deeper, several whiskey-focused websites offer excellent insights. Whisky Magazine, for example, features an interesting interview with the New Riff owner, Jay Erisman, from their 10-year anniversary celebration.  

Breaking Bourbon is always an exceptional source for bourbon knowledge.  They have a detailed and informative review of New Riff’s Malted Rye.  We’ve covered what ‘malting’ is, but let’s review with Breaking Bourbon’s succinct and helpful explanation: 

“Malted rye is rye grain that has undergone the malting process, during which grain is moistened and begins to germinate, creating enzymes in the seed that convert starches to sugars. Nearly any grain can be malted, although barley is the most common, and the process alters and refines the flavor.”

New Riff Distilling Company sits on the Ohio River at the northernmost tip of Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati.  When the owners built their distillery, they realized they were sitting on top of an aquifer that could suit their distilling needs.  “New Riff sources its water from an aquifer under the distillery, accessed via a 100’ deep private well and providing water with four times as much dissolved minerals than found in other water supplies.”  We also learn, “Groundwater is geothermically cold and remains at 14ºC every day of the year. Not having to chill the water saves the distillery a lot of energy.” 

New Riff has a good assortment of whiskies including

An 8 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Straight Rye

A 100% Malted Rye

A Single Barrel Bourbon and Single Barrel Rye

While many distilleries today prioritize volume and often obscure details like age statements, New Riff takes the opposite approach. As Breaking Bourbon notes, the company is committed to transparency - every bottle carries an age statement, and mash bills are openly shared. 

In my experience, everything I’ve tried from New Riff has been excellent. I’ve enjoyed several of their expressions at whiskey bars, but the malted rye stands out. It’s deeply flavorful, thoughtfully crafted, and well worth seeking out.

Meqem qaagiti!

AI was used on original content to polish the language for readability, fix grammar and punctuation issues, and slightly adjust structure where needed for smoother flow.

Cocktail of the Week

My friend, Richard, posted a fantastic cocktail that we can enjoy - perfect for this time of year.  I don’t think I recommend New Riff for this.  They’re more of a sippin’ whiskey.  But Old Overholdt or Maker’s Mark would be good choices for a rye or bourbon.

Mott and Mulberry

1/2 oz Demerara syrup (never knew how to pronounce it)

1/2 oz lemon juice (fresh of course)

3/4 oz apple cider (not the hard variety - I actually cut this back to 1/2 oz too, because I was trying to bring the sweetness down a touch)

1 oz Amaro (I used Amaro Averna, but Contratro works too)

1 oz bourbon or rye

Shake over ice and serve.

I got the recipe off Peter Suderman's substack