New Riff Distilling (Newport, KY) has announced the release of its 8-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the distillery’s oldest bourbon yet released and per the brand, an unprecedented “first fruit” of initial whiskeys set back for further aging. Available beginning March 8 — a nod to the age of the whiskey — this addition is the newest installment to New Riff’s core product lineup.

A new riff on a coveted classic, this 8-year-old expression of New Riff’s award-winning flagship bourbon is bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof with a mashbill of 65% corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley. 

The northern Kentucky based distillery, est 2014, is definitely a brand on the rise. I’ll rank them in the elite for “new distilleries”. Their initial flagship launch was a hit, followed by their Bottled-in-Bond, rye, and even the American Single Malt. They are putting out good liquid.

PRICING & AVAILABILITY: SRP of $67.99. It is now available for presale ordering at newrriffdistilling.com with pickup at the distillery gift shop beginning Friday, March 8. It will be available for online ordering and shipping beginning March 8 at 11 a.m. EST and across New Riff’s national distribution network in the coming weeks. 

“As much acclaim as we have received from the bourbon community for our 4-year-old, bottled-in-bond and single barrel offerings, we knew the real excitement would come from genuinely older whiskey,” said co-founder Jay Erisman. “And here it is — the beginning of the future and the next wave of New Riff.” 

Per the brand, it delivers savory, spicy flavors over the inimitable foundation of fully-fledged Kentucky whiskey. Like all New Riff whiskeys, an abundance of rye spice is present, however, secondary and tertiary flavors are significantly deeper and more developed.  

“Oaky flavors throughout are richer yet, importantly, not at all tannic or drying,” Erisman said. “Rather, the freshness evident here is exceptional, suggesting a barrel of New Riff bourbon at 8 years old has a long life of aging ahead of it.” 

While known for their commitment to bottled-in-bond standards, Erisman said the company made the difficult but necessary decision to waive that status for this release, focusing on a wider distribution network than previous specialty releases. Despite meeting all other requirements of a bonded whiskey, due to the comparatively small production from the earliest years of New Riff, this release blends bourbons from two distilling seasons aged a minimum of 8 years. 

“New Riff remains entirely committed to producing bottled-in-bond whiskey,” Erisman said. “Ongoing production and future releases at younger ages will absolutely continue with our groundbreaking paradigm of Bottled-In-Bond Without Chill Filtration.” 

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