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New Riff 4 years Single Barrel Proof

spicy woody
3.5
(12)€93United States, Kentucky, Rye

Flavours

Whisky character

Fresh
Warm
Mild
Full
Smooth
Spicy

Taste mentions

Facts

New Riff sits in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. The rye behind this bottling runs 95% rye grain with 5% malted rye. That malted portion feeds the fermentation and pushes the spice hard. Barrels are toasted first, then charred, so the wood is worked twice before the spirit goes in. Four years later the whisky is drawn straight from one cask. No chill filtration, no water added, no blending with neighbours. You get black pepper and clove up front, then a floral turn nobody expects from a rye this young.

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About the distillery

Distillery

New Riff

In 2014, Kentucky entrepreneur Ken Lewis opened New Riff in Newport, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. The site sits at the gateway to the Bourbon Trail in Northern Kentucky. It is still owned by a single family, which keeps a tight grip on quality. The distillery draws its own well water straight from the Ohio River Alluvial Aquifer beneath the building. Newport happens to hold the densest, most limestone-rich water along the whole length of that aquifer. That hard, mineral-heavy water shapes the spirit before it ever touches oak. New Riff bottles nearly everything Bottled in Bond and without chill filtration, keeping the whisky full-flavoured and honest. Its high-rye bourbon went on to win World's Best Bourbon at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards.

4.1Average rating

12Whiskies on Distilld

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Kentucky

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About the New Riff 4 years Single Barrel Proof

New Riff 4 years Single Barrel Proof is a Kentucky rye whisky bottled from one cask. The distillery sits in Newport, on the Ohio River bank opposite Cincinnati. The mash bill runs 95% rye grain and 5% malted rye. Nothing is blended in from other barrels, and nothing is filtered out. Each bottle carries the strength the barrel gave it, here 52.1% ABV. The age statement stays on the label at four years. The distillery was started by former Kentucky liquor retailers. They spent years picking single barrels for their own shops, and that habit shaped the whole operation. Barrels here are 53 gallons of new oak, toasted first and then charred. Toasting works sugars deeper into the wood before the flame seals the surface. A sensory panel tastes and approves every barrel before it is bottled. Black label releases reach all fifty states. Caramel and vanilla open it, then black pepper and cinnamon push through. Orange peel sits behind them. The spice widens across the tongue into clove and nutmeg. Charred oak and a bready, cereal weight hold underneath it all. A floral note arrives late, closer to rose than to herbs. It closes long and peppery, with mint and dry oak holding on. Nothing here feels thin for a four year old whisky. Most of the core range is bottled in bond at 100 proof, blended from many barrels. This single barrel does the opposite. One cask, one strength, and the number changes with every release. That means two bottles from the same shelf can taste noticeably different. Some lean sweeter on the butterscotch side, others come out drier and more peppery. Buying New Riff 4 years Single Barrel Proof is a small gamble worth taking.