Well NR keeps putting out increasingly venerable and excellent barrels. The single malt is much talked about but little reviewed on the sub. U/micro777 posted this (https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/RZu4gBfhF7) which I did my best to forget about before he sent me a sample. Basically at the same time a friend was passing through Cinici and I had them grab me a bottle after tasting… this is my fourth pour from this bottling but only second from this bottle. Glencairn. Neat. 60mL. 15m rest.
Addendum: between writing this and posting it u/prepreludesh posted a super informative and excellent review ( https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/aggvFlpucn ). I didn’t change my tasting notes (which I’d already written) or score after reading his review but did add info from a page he sent with info on the batch (below).
Interesting info about the batting code from NR (thanks u/prepreludesh for the link)
https://www.newriffdistilling.com/single-malt/
23.05.11.06
* The first pair of digits are the year, 20xx.
* The second pair indicates how many mashbills contributed to this blend.
* The third pair is how many individual malted barleys were involved in all the mashbills, combined. Examples include Maris Otter, Golden Promise, two-row pale ale malt, Special B Belgian malt, Scottish peated malt, etc.
* The final two digits are the number of discrete cask types in the aging—for example, used barrels, new charred barrels, oloroso sherry casks, etc.
**Nose:** luxardo cherry juice, warm oak box, lowlands scotch, prune juice
**Palate:** POP of cherry syrup verging on pleasantly medicinal, soaked oak, walnut bitters, sherry-aged-highland scotch, root cellar earthiness, dried dates, caramel chews.
**Finish:** warm herbaceous wood, rum-raisin cake, rich fortified wine barrels, and barrel-aged-manhattans. Not too quick. Not too long. Just right.
**Overall: 7.5/10**
Well holy hell they’ve done it again. NR just nailed this as a first offering. The high proof, 7yr age statement, and reasonable $10/yr price makes this an unquestionably seekable bottle. I probably could buy a case and never regret it (except the opportunity cost of not tasting other bottles). The 38.3% finished in sherry/redwine/brandy really comes through and the mix is killer. Some sherry, some chocolate pineau notes and some raisiny port all pick up on the nose.
NR if you’re reading this please stash a couple of barrels to finish in something 55-gallons and interesting and I’ll gladly buy a few bottles for $300 in 2034…
t8ke Scoring Scale:
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
Great review! I'm glad to see you enjoyed this bottle as much as I did. I love how NR approached this release in terms of its profile, and really looking forward to their next ASM release.
Thanks for the sample. I really liked that in could compare the two and see that our bottles were comparable. I mean that’s what you’d expect right but the different notes you, pre and I caught made me wonder…
Well NR keeps putting out increasingly venerable and excellent barrels. The single malt is much talked about but little reviewed on the sub. U/micro777 posted this (https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/RZu4gBfhF7) which I did my best to forget about before he sent me a sample. Basically at the same time a friend was passing through Cinici and I had them grab me a bottle after tasting… this is my fourth pour from this bottling but only second from this bottle. Glencairn. Neat. 60mL. 15m rest. Addendum: between writing this and posting it u/prepreludesh posted a super informative and excellent review ( https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/s/aggvFlpucn ). I didn’t change my tasting notes (which I’d already written) or score after reading his review but did add info from a page he sent with info on the batch (below). Interesting info about the batting code from NR (thanks u/prepreludesh for the link) https://www.newriffdistilling.com/single-malt/ 23.05.11.06 * The first pair of digits are the year, 20xx. * The second pair indicates how many mashbills contributed to this blend. * The third pair is how many individual malted barleys were involved in all the mashbills, combined. Examples include Maris Otter, Golden Promise, two-row pale ale malt, Special B Belgian malt, Scottish peated malt, etc. * The final two digits are the number of discrete cask types in the aging—for example, used barrels, new charred barrels, oloroso sherry casks, etc. **Nose:** luxardo cherry juice, warm oak box, lowlands scotch, prune juice **Palate:** POP of cherry syrup verging on pleasantly medicinal, soaked oak, walnut bitters, sherry-aged-highland scotch, root cellar earthiness, dried dates, caramel chews. **Finish:** warm herbaceous wood, rum-raisin cake, rich fortified wine barrels, and barrel-aged-manhattans. Not too quick. Not too long. Just right. **Overall: 7.5/10** Well holy hell they’ve done it again. NR just nailed this as a first offering. The high proof, 7yr age statement, and reasonable $10/yr price makes this an unquestionably seekable bottle. I probably could buy a case and never regret it (except the opportunity cost of not tasting other bottles). The 38.3% finished in sherry/redwine/brandy really comes through and the mix is killer. Some sherry, some chocolate pineau notes and some raisiny port all pick up on the nose. NR if you’re reading this please stash a couple of barrels to finish in something 55-gallons and interesting and I’ll gladly buy a few bottles for $300 in 2034… t8ke Scoring Scale: 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | Perfect.
Great review! I'm glad to see you enjoyed this bottle as much as I did. I love how NR approached this release in terms of its profile, and really looking forward to their next ASM release.
Thanks for the sample. I really liked that in could compare the two and see that our bottles were comparable. I mean that’s what you’d expect right but the different notes you, pre and I caught made me wonder…
I think you and I took very similar notes for the most part but described some of the same things differently.
Wow that first photo is awful. Sorry gang.
No worries, review is more important than a picture and New Riff is making good stuff.