Don’t get it twisted: I love rye all year round. But especially as the weather begins to cool off in the fall (which it will, I swear), the spicy notes to rye whiskey remind me of holiday toddies and slightly sweet Manhattans sipped by a fire. You can keep your pumpkin spice — give me the baking spices of a nicely balanced rye whiskey!
The first new rye that I’ve sampled recently is New Riff Kentucky Straight Malted Rye Whiskey, released at 100 proof and retailing in the $65-per-bottle range. This spirit has a lot to like about it. The elevated proof isn’t so hot that you wouldn’t want to use it as a cocktail base, but the malty character of the 6-year-old whiskey makes it interesting enough to enjoy neat, which isn’t usually my favorite way to enjoy rye whiskey.
It’s pretty pale in the glass, perhaps the result of the climate being a little less extreme in the New Riff rick houses in Newport, Ky., than in the hollers of Tennessee or the larger aging facilities in other parts of Kentucky that aren’t as close to the Ohio River. Not to worry, I’ve never turned down a whiskey because of how it looked in the glass.
The sprouted rye becomes immediately evident on first sniff, contributing a biscuity, toasty aroma to the expected cinnamon and clove notes. This rye is not chill-filtered, and some people would say that means less of the flavor components are extracted. I’d have to agree with those people, because the mouthfeel is surprisingly full-bodied for a rye whiskey. Oily tannins coat the palate and leave behind minty and Demerara sugar flavors over the course of a long finish.
Often, the spice of a rye is more of a hit in the face instead of a nice developing character, but New Riff has created a product that is worthy of slower consideration as new flavors of baked apples, clove and toffee emerge with each visit to the snifter. I think this is a definite winner in the category and worth seeking out for home cocktail use or for enjoying neat.
The second novel rye in my snifter comes from Blue Note, a brand from B.R. Distilling in the heart of Memphis. They have recently released a Honey Rye Cask that I think will be very popular among fans of both rye whiskeys and honey cask finishes, a category that encompasses a large portion of whiskey lovers. People go crazy for honey cask finishes, waiting in long lines to pick up a bottle or even experimenting at home with barrels filled with honey and then dumped before adding whiskey. That process gives you whiskey-flavored honey and honey-flavored whiskey, and I hope the Nobel committee has whoever invented this on their radar.
Blue Note’s Honey Rye Cask retails for about the same price as New Riff’s Malted Rye, but enjoys a significant proof premium owing to the fact that it is bottled at a robust 117.2 proof. The mash bill is a very popular 95 percent rye/5 percent malt recipe that manufacturers around the country like to use in their spirits.
The whiskey is a little younger, aged a minimum of three years in oak before being transferred to the honey pots, but the finishing process conceals most of the grainy notes that younger whiskeys can exhibit. Besides, the sweet spot for most ryes is several years younger than for bourbon.
There’s no mistaking the clove-y and spicy notes of the rye whiskey in this finished version, but after a quick attack on the mid-palate, those characteristics begin to fade daily quickly as the sweet wildflower honey nuances take over. The honey comes from producers around Memphis, so there’s a nice element of terroir to this whiskey (which was actually distilled in Kentucky). Two trips through barrels contribute a little extra oak to this rye, so the vanillins of the wood make a late appearance in the finish, much to the benefit of the experience.
A more creative and knowledgeable bartender than I am could probably think of cocktails where the Blue Note Honey Rye Cask would be a star, but I’m just going to enjoy it straight and often. The other good news is that this particular honey cask release is fairly widely available across major markets in the eastern half of the country, so you might actually be able to find it without standing in a line outside a distillery. Consider yourself fortunate if you do!
