BACKSETTER RYE WHISKEY

Meet our latest riff on Kentucky’s wondrous whiskey traditions: introducing New Riff Backsetter Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, an ongoing exploration of the deep truths and deeper mysteries of the sour mash method.

Our Backsetters – one Bourbon and one Rye – released as a pair of absolutely unprecedented whiskeys are, like all New Riff whiskeys, crafted with the traditional, time honored Sour Mash Kentucky Regimen. Wherein a portion of grain “backset” from a prior distillation is added to the mash of a present batch. And they utilize the exact same mash bills as New Riff’s award winning standard Bourbon and Rye recipes. What’s different is exactly what they were sour mashed with…

For this opening Backsetter salvo, we have used backset collected from a distillation of peat-smoked malted barley, which lends a wonderfully smoky cast to the whiskeys. The resultant smoky flavor is hauntingly unique, with layers of peat enveloping spicy rich Rye and Bourbon, respectively.

Tasting Notes

BOTTLED IN BOND
WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION
95% RYE, 5% MALTED RYE
PEATED BACKSET
AGED AT LEAST 4 YEARS
100 PROOF (50% Alc/Vol)

Nose: Considerable peat at the front, hinting at fruit and grassy rye. A splash of water detonates into a profound bouquet, as the peat retreats into stylish layers beneath a soaring top note of grassy rye and subtle cinnamon spice.

Taste: Medium-to full-bodied, rounded and chewy, again with quite a bit of peat, but it is lovely peat at that, in fact absolutely gorgeous peat that Islay would be proud of. A midpalate of sugared fruit and cinnamon-allspice heads to a finish of wafting smoke, stylishly dovetailed with the rye spice (Thai long black pepper, mineral, grain of paradise).

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