The New Riff Distillery, in Northern Kentucky, has been around for eight years now and they have released an eight year old Bourbon that they have distilled. It is a 65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley mash bill and bottled at 100 proof. It is not a bonded whiskey and I will assume that is because they are using whiskey from more than one season in the bottle. It is a very tasty Bourbon and Matt and I sat down to taste it the other day. Here are our tasting notes.
New Riff 8 Year Old Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Eight Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, a hint of fruit – maybe blackberries, nutmeg, and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, blackberry jam, rosewater and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, citrus, wild berries, nutmeg, cardamom, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla is enhanced and ginger spice comes out in the taste. Tasted with a pecan and the citrus comes forward with orange and lime zest.
- Matt: Vanilla, blackberry jam, red pepper flakes and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out strawberries and tamed the red pepper. The pecan brought out caramel, burnt peanuts and an earthy flavor of oak leaves.
Finish:
- Mike: Short with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with oak and ginger spice. The pecan made the finish longer with oak and a hint of chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and red pepper spice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with oak and just a little red pepper. The pecan made the finish long with oak and tobacco.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that has a spicy smoke. I would reach for a CAO Amazon Basin cigar that has a lot of spice and vanilla in the smoke.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller