New Riff Pulls Flavor Levers aplenty with 2026 Kentucky Single Malt Whiskey
This is a super unique whiskey that pushes and pulls your memory of American single malts–even those from Scotland–to and fro in an attempt to align and describe them. But broadly speaking of whiskies in general, this is its own animal.
Bottle Details
- DISTILLER: New Riff Distillery
- TYPE: Single Malt
- MASH BILL: Six 100% Malted Barley Mash Bills made up of 12 different types of malted barley
- AGE: At least 7 years
- YEAR: 2026
- PROOF: 111.7 (55.85%)
- AVAILABILITY: In limited U.S. markets
- MSRP: $69.99
- BUY ONLINE: New Riff Bottle Shop
TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Malty, caramel-y and dark soda bread notes lead the way before cooked stone fruits and oak join in unison. As stone fruit strengthens, it's joined by leather, smoked barley and flamed citrus before moving onto wood roasted figs.
PALATE: Smoke and oak lead the way, laying down a dark and complex foundation that holds on through a subsequent sip or two before giving a way to ripe grilled fruit, tropical fruit, baking spices and Black Forest cake. I could keep on writing descriptors, but no need. It's a fabulous.
FINISH: Dark, lively, spicy, long and slightly drying. Get some high quality milk chocolate ready for this one.
Reviewer's Verdict
RATING: Bottle. You'll want nothing less. Especially for just $70.
WORTH THE PRICE: Without a doubt. This is a super unique whiskey that pushes and pulls your memory of American single malts and those from Scotland, to and fro in a vain attempt to align and describe them. But broadly speaking of whiskies in general, this is its own animal.
Its smoke notes aren't reminiscent of peated malts, nor do its fruit notes resemble some of the deliciously bright American single malts on the market. And along with six mash bills containing a dozen types of malted barley (click here, barley geeks, to see), five cask types were used: new charred oak, de-charred toasted oak, used bourbon barrels, and oloroso and Pedro Ximenez ex-sherry casks.
That's a lot of flavor levers at work, which might make one assume there's too much of a good thing going on. But that's not the case. It's as big as it's rich and round, and as darkly flavored as you'd expect from such a variety of woods used. And yet square in the middle palate, fruit appears on a pedestal of toasted oak and busy, potent spice. This thing's crazy and crazy good!
WHO IT'S FOR: The adventurous whiskey lover. Something this complex could overwhelm a newcomer and puzzle a whole generation of taters to reconsider their commitment to brown spirits. (Hey, maybe I'm on to something here ... use this whiskey as tater repellent!) Surely cigar lovers would enjoy this sip's smokey accents, and I've already paired it with my own smoked pork shoulder to great effect. (It's a 10!)
REVIEWER'S VERDICT: I recommend this bottle fully and highly. This is what makes whiskey drinking in 2026 new, fresh and fun, and it also helps highlight the skills on display at great craft distilleries. I rarely drive far for whiskey, but this one has me thinking of how I can convince my wife to roll to Covington, Ky., this weekend and fetch one.
Disclaimer
This bottle found its way to us compliments of the brand. What ends up on the page is ours alone — and they knew that going in. Around here, honesty isn't a policy. It's the whole damn point.
About Our Rating System
Bourbon & Banter uses a three-tier rating system created over a decade ago: Bottle, Bar, or Bust.
- 🍾 Bottle — Buy it. This one deserves a place in your cabinet. (Approximate equivalent: 85 and above on a 100-point scale)
- 🥃 Bar — Worth trying, but not necessarily worth owning. Find it at a bar before committing to a bottle. (Approximate equivalent: 70–84)
- 💀 Bust — Skip it. Life is too short and your shelf space too valuable. (Approximate equivalent: below 70)
Numeric scores imply a precision that doesn't exist — and most publications never score below 80, making half the scale meaningless. We'd rather answer the question that actually matters: buy it, try it at a bar before you buy, or skip it. The approximate equivalents above are for reference only.