New Riff Maltster Malted Wheat Bourbon

Neat. Neck pour. Just opened the Malted Rye. It’s good but not great. Intriguing though. It was like no other New Riff product. This is its brother but instead of Malted Rye, we have Malted Wheat. This is the first New Riff with Wheat that I am aware of. Coming of the Malted Rye these are definitely cousins. The blood orange is turned down in comparison and this is much softer. The malt feels like it has more room to breathe here. Similar notes otherwise. Toffee, butterscotch, short bread cookie. This is more traditionally New Riff the longer I sit with it. Oh the honey. It’s darkening up too. Graham cracker with that honey and a caramel is emerging. I like this one more in the nose. Silky smooth again, great mouth feel. Brown sugar, powder sugar and cinnamon up front. Strong toffee and honey. Oh the honey. Shortbread cookie and caramel drizzle on the finish. This is yummy and more characteristically New Riff. Oh the honey again on the finish. Man, that honey note. I get honey on many of the New Riff single barrels I have and it is strong and delicious here. I can detect a slight hint of youngness. The malted wheat doesn’t mask it as well as the Malted Rye I guess but still, further excitement of how great New Riff will be as the years add on.

The nose reminds me of orange rind, or orange aromatic bitters. It also could be pear brandy with sweet lemon or orange zest. Some of the brandy definitely carries across into the flavor, with an almost too bitter, too citrusy quality to this. It drinks young, interesting, and nice in that it is definitely different and zesty. I wouldn't peg this as a wheated bourbon at all because the flavors are atypical, however I recently had something very similar from Kinsey - an unreleased wheated bourbon with very similar qualities that I liked. I want to add that I think wheat is still underutilized in that everyone was using wheat to try and make the next Weller.But if you use it the right way like this, or like Kinsey is doing, it can pick up an intense fruity character. For people who like brandy, there may really be something here with this mashbill. But I think it needs more age

The nose starts with malted chocolate, coffee, caramelized fruit, charred oak and a bit of astringency. Overall the nose is pretty soft but it all melds together very nicely and is quite unlike your usual New Riff. The palate is somewhat rich that gradually reaches the corners of the mouth with a nice wave malted milk, chocolate, coffee grounds and some hints of vanilla, charred oak and some astringency. It’s just as subtle as the nose was but is rather delicious and intensifies as you chew on it. The finish is medium and has a lingering vanilla chocolate note with some hints of malt and a short lived astringency. It leaves behind a pleasantly creamy finish that definitely leaves you wanting more.

Nose of white bread. First taste is as expected for a wheated bourbon, but with a medium-length finish that ends with vanilla and fresh baked cookies. Delicious!

Huge honey nose with bits of vanilla, chocolate malt balls, and graham cracker. Smooth and oily with tons of sweetness on back end. Honey again on finish.

Good, sweet, smooth. Definitely softer and sweeter than normal new riff. Tasty Good easy sipper.