Kentucky Sour Mash Single Malt Whiskey
New Riff’s Sour Mash Single Malt Whiskey is a provocative new riff on the hallowed traditions of malted barley. Comprised of up to six different mashbills, and slowly matured in a multiplicity of cask types, this unprecedented whiskey welds Old World inspiration to Kentucky’s sour mash technique. Distilled in our column beer still and doubler, it weaves a wealth of malty flavors into oaken age: a bold new concept in the time-honored Kentucky whiskey regimen.
The six mashbills include:
- · 100% Maris Otter, a classic British ale malt
- · 100% Golden Promise, a classic Scotch whisky malt
- · Barleywine-style, after high gravity, heavy bodied barleywine ales
- · Belgian quadrupel-style, in the fashion of rich, mellow Trappist ales
- · 100% Scottish peated barley malt, heavily smoked and pungent
- · 100% Chevallier Heirloom malted barley, an 1820s-vintage English variety
Tasting Notes
cask strength
without chill filtration
aged at least 7 years
113.8 Proof (56.9% Alc/Vol)
Nose: Broad, deep and heady, with many barrel notes (oaky, sherried oak, toasty); with time, it develops rich malty fruity grains; a splash of water advances complicated grainy detail, showing grassy-mineral malt, dark fruit cacao nibs, orange-lemon citrus, and a wisp of smoke and ozone.
Palate: Straight-up, the oak is forward and layered (oloroso sherry, red wine, brandy, new oak), chewy texture, and drying but not tannic; with water, a strikingly juicy entry, bright fruit and citrus peel; it is dryish and tinged with sweetening fruits; a BIG Kentucky-style body, savory-soft thick-cut texture with red and dark fruit, cocoa powder, grassy-nutty malt, a shading of sherry oak and a suggestion of smoke.
Finish: Exceptionally zesty, even delicate, the fruited (raspberry, tangerine rind, bergamont-orange) components lifted up in a whiskey-ozone-air and framed with the sherry-branded oak, late lemon curd and a vanishing air-kiss of peat smoke.
we kindly suggest adding a splash of water to this unfiltered malt whiskey
