Tasting notes

nose

butterscotch and fresh-cut oak, vanilla and a lift of rye spice, with cinnamon, raisin, anise and dark cherry opening up with air

palate

broad and silky; vanilla and dark caramel give way to molasses and raisin, then a build of clove, cinnamon, mint and dark berry with a menthol and licorice edge

finish

long and spice-led; bramble fruit, clove and white pepper hold on, settling into vanilla fudge and cinnamon with a lightly herbal, drying tail

Mash bill

65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley. All three grains are non-GMO, and the 30% rye share makes this a high-rye bourbon, which is where its clove, cinnamon and mint spice comes from. The grain is cooked and fermented under the sour mash method, carrying part of a previous batch into each new one, in open fermenters exposed to the distillery's own microflora.

Awards

• Gold Medal — San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2025

Why it's craft

Every bottle is one barrel, chosen by New Riff's tasting panel and left at the strength it came out of the wood, with no dilution and no chill filtration. The founders ran a Kentucky liquor store before building the distillery in 2014. The bourbon is made from a 30 percent rye recipe by sour mash in open fermenters on the Newport site, from grain to barrel.