Feature & Review Series - Part 3 | 57% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Single malt meets the Kentucky regimen*

To See the Future of American Single Malt, We Need to Understand its Past - Part 3

In Part One of this multi-part whiskey biopic - my magnum opus to American Single Malt Whiskey – I started my search for the historical origins of American Single Malt by looking back to the very earliest beginnings of whiskey history in North America.

That took me all the way back to the early 1600’s where I learned that whiskey has been here ever since the very first few Europeans stepped onto the continent.

In Part Two, we continued from the 1600s, all through the 1700s, and left us peering into the dawn of the 1800’s. This chapter taught me that while rum was America’s first love for distilled spirits, rye became our first love for whiskey. I also learned that not all ryes were the same and that some were even worth fighting for.

I decided to break the 1800's out into a couple of chapters since there is so much whiskey history to cover. The early years of the new century saw the Lewis & Clark Expedition walk across the continent and back again for the sake of exploration and discovery. By the end of the same miraculous century, people would witness several profound innovations like railroads, electricity, telephones, photography, airflight, automobiles, and so much more. The 1800’s were a profoundly transformational time in North America – and whiskey was again present for all of it.

The Book of Bourbon

As the turn of the century approached, several favourable economic, political, and social circumstances began to emerge that would set the stage for American whiskey to graduate from small-time, farmer-distillers operations to something much more commercially competitive. A few of those circumstances included the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which doubled the size of the early USA to include the future states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Then George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sorted things out with the Pennsylvanian farmers and their riotous Whiskey Rebellion. And then the US would double its size again in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase. As such, both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers became navigable commercial waterways that suddenly connected these wilderness farming communities to the global market - thanks to the downstream port of New Orleans. Many of these new states were especially well suited for making whiskey thanks to the availability of abundant sources of water, fertile soils, favourable climates, and vast forests of oak trees (Quercus Alba no less).

Bourbon enters the arena.

The whiskey we know today as Bourbon was originally called “Kentucky Whiskey” or just “Western Whiskey” to differentiate it from whiskies made in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and elsewhere. Elijah Craig is often credited as being the “Father of Bourbon” though this may be more modern-day marketing than factual truth.

The first written use of the word “Bourbon” as a name for whiskey is traceable to an advertisement placed in the Kentucky Western Citizen newspaper in 1821. There are a couple of theories for the original provenance for the name “Bourbon” and one of those theories comes from the namesake county in Kentucky from which much of this new frontier whiskey was being made. The second theory comes from the street name in New Orleans where this whiskey would end up when shipped off for onward world transport. The current state of research and the general affinity within the Bourbon enthusiast community seems to be split; some tend to side with the latter of the two theories while others like Drew Hannush of Whiskey Lore found more compelling evidence for the former.

Bourbons of the early 1820’s were not as well defined as what we know of them today. Whiskey making in the early 1800’s was still improvisational and varied between the combinations of grains used, fermentation methods, distillation techniques, oak barrel storage -charring or not - or if flavor and colour “ingredients” were added to the whiskey. Despite these production irregularities, whiskey from either Kentucky or Tennessee was generally considered to be of higher quality than whiskies made elsewhere.

Personally, I don’t think an unaged "Kentucky Whiskey” from 1821 with additives like molasses or coffee grinds was genuinely any better than whiskies made in Pennsylvania or Maryland. It just tasted sweeter thanks to the abundance of corn in the mashbill, and people just ended up preferring sweet over spice – hence the potentially misplaced perception of quality. But that’s just me.

There were some important innovations of the era that have had a lasting influence on whiskey production that I’d like to cover:

Ageing whiskey - with and without charring the inner staves of oak barrels
Sour Mash Fermentation.

Ageing Whiskey

Contrary to my own original beliefs, the ageing of whiskey in charred oak barrels was not first invented in Kentucky to make Bourbon. I think it's safe to assume that most Dramface readers are already aware that when whiskey was first being “invented” in the 1400’s and 1500’s in Ireland and Scotland, it was being consumed as a clear, unaged, spirit – pretty much just as it came right off the still. At the time, distillers would store or transport their “new make” in a variety of vessels - sometimes wood, clay pots, stoneware, or leather bags. When wood was used - oak was not always available and sometimes ash or pine were used – it was totally dependent upon what was available to them at the time. In other words, the storage of whiskey was an afterthought and not considered part of its production or value for centuries.

The roots of barrel ageing and the technique of charring staves, both look to originate in France with cognac distillers. While It was difficult to find specific sources (that I could find at least), it does seem like the practice was well underway by the 1500’s. French Cognac producers would use and reuse un-charred Limousin oak until they would fall apart. Unlike today’s vertically integrated production systems, barrels in the 1500’s were used for multiple purposes and then handed down from one purpose or one person to the next. Barrels would be used for storing foods, raw fish, dry goods, or whatever. Charring the barrels would gradually become an easy way to clean out the funky aromas & flavors left over from the barrel’s previous contents.

The intentional ageing of whiskey began to shift in the early 1700’s as trade and commerce brought wine casks from mainland Europe over to the UK for sale. These casks, once dumped of their contents, would be reused for a variety of purposes - sometimes for storing whiskey. The distinction I want to highlight here is the time when people caught onto the benefits of intentionally ‘ageing’ their whiskey in oak before putting it up for sale.

It looks like the practice gradually developed and was communicated, person by person, over the rest of the 18th century and into the 19th. By the early to mid 1800’s, the storage of whisk(e)y in oak barrels had grown from infrequent, uncommon, and incidental, to the #1 preferred technique. As distillers embraced barrel ageing in the UK and Europe, the practice also began to spread across the pond to North America, and by the same mid-1800’s timeframe, barrel ageing was becoming more common here in the states as well. Note, I said, “common” but not completely adopted. More on that in Chapter Four.

In America, there seems to be a couple of divergent stories for the adoption of charred oak barrels for whiskey storage. The first possible method could have arisen from exposure to Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados casks that were being imported from France. These imported casks would have been handled on the shipping docks in Louisiana where no doubt some of the locals would have tasted the benefits of the oak aged spirit in their glasses. From there it came down to word of mouth “advertising” and communicating these benefits to distillers upstream in Kentucky and Tennessee, etc.

The second possible origin story arises from the local lore and legend surrounding Elijah Craig. Elijah was supposedly the first to char oak barrels for storing and ageing bourbon style whiskey. The story goes that in 1789 Elijah accidentally burned some barrels in a fire and rather than discard them, he used them to store some whiskey. Better flavors ensued and the rest is history.

The truth could very well be a mixture of several stories, including both of these. I think it's plausible to say that the flavorsome benefits of aged French Cognac reached Elijah (and others in the area) and charring was gradually adopted by many bourbon distilleries in the same era to help make their products stand out from the rest.

As for the legal provenance of ageing of bourbon in “...new, charred oak barrels…”, that was not codified into law until much later in 1964 when the US Congress passed a resolution regarding Bourbon as a “distinctive product of the United States.”

Sour Mash Fermentation

This was the second big innovation to come from Bourbon production. Sour Mashing is the technique of reusing a small portion of ‘backset’ (or ‘hot slop’ as it was known then) to lower the pH of the new mash to aid fermentation and reduce variability between batches. Whoever specifically invented the technique is shrouded in mystery and lost to time, however, the first written record of the technique was by Catherine Carpenter in 1818 when she mentions it in her original recipe...

“Out into the mash tub six bushels of very hot slop then put in one bushel of corn meal ground pretty course. Stir well then sprinkle a little meal over the mash. Let it stand 5 days, that is 3 full days betwist the day you mash and the day you cool off – on the fifth day put in 3 gallons of warm water then one gallon of rye meal and one gallon of malt. Work it well into the mash and stir 3 quarters of an hour then fill the tub half full of luke warm water. Stir it well and with a fine sieve or otherwise break all of the lumps fine then let stand for three hours then fill up the tub with luke warm water...”

Catherine was a twice widow who ended up managing the family farm and distillery in Casey County, KY where she raised her 12 children. She is credited with the first written recipe for Sweet Mash fermentation as well. Overall, her written records have added significant insights into the operational practices of making whiskey in the 1800’s. (As an aside, I found a news bite that highlights a collaborative project between the Kentucky Historical Society and Brown Forman’s Woodford Reserve, to revive Catherine’s 1818 recipe – supposedly to be released in 2026).

*Distillers revive 200-year-old recipe in new Kentucky bourbon*

James C. Crow (1789–1856) is also often (mis)credited for coming up with the Sour Mash technique as his contributions came a few years after Catherine’s. He’s also often miscredited as being a doctor and scientist who brought standardisation and regimented orderly processes to whiskey making. He’s got his own Wikipedia page which might be tainted with elements of popularized historiographical information, so read with caution. I found another, perhaps better resource in Drew Hanush’s new book, Whiskey Lore: Volume One. There he recants his original research, digging up census records, newspaper records, and first hand accounts of those who worked alongside and knew James Crow personally.

Drew highlights a few of the techniques that allude to James’ personal approach to whiskey making. He seems to have insisted on the best quality ingredients, good clean limestone water and small batch, slowly produced, “old school” production methods (imagine being considered old school in the 1840’s). One of those old school techniques was his use of direct fire pot stills vs the growing popularity of steam heated stills. Rather than avoid the risk of scorching the grain, he slowed the distillation down and carefully monitored the temperatures which allowed for greater control of reflux. The result was a “full bodied, oily whiskey that no other distiller could match.”

It may be more accurate to say that James’ contribution to whiskey making should be seen as someone who was obsessed over slow, deliberate, quality production, rather than scientific standardization and being the originator of sour mash fermentation.

Back to American Single Malts

Many of these distilling techniques and production characteristics have been handed down to ASMW producers today. As of December, 2024, the US Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has (finally) formally ratified American Single Malt as an official “Standard of Identity” in the United States. That means that all Single Malt Whiskey producers in the US can now produce and bottle their spirits with an equal understanding and definition under the law.

The ratification process began in 2016 with the formation of the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission (ASMWC) who brought several early distillers together to define for themselves what they thought a Single Malt made in the states should be. They submitted that draft definition to the TTB in 2017 where it has sat for eight years. The ASMWC continued to campaign for that definition over the years – lobbying and submitting petitions from distillers and consumers alike.

The definition for American Single Malt has some familiar attributes and some interesting differences (from both bourbon and Scotch Single Malt). Here’s what those definitions are:

Made from 100% malted barley
Distilled entirely at one distillery
Mashed, distilled, and matured in the United States of America
Matured in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (new, used, charred, toasted, STR, whatever)
Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
Bottled to at least 80 (U.S.) proof or more (40% alcohol by volume).

ASMW cannot have:

Neutral spirits,
Flavoring agents,
Artificial sweeteners.

* Note that caramel colouring can be used, though it must be disclosed on the label if used. *

Additionally, the TTB also ratified the use of the term, “Straight American Single Malt Whiskey” to denote when a malt is aged for at least two years in its original oak cask – whatever cask type that might be.

Notable differences between ASMW and Single Malt Scotch Whisky:

The use of stills other than pot stills for distillation. This was for a few reasons:
- To honour the legacy distillers who have already developed their historical brands using column stills and use that as part of their identity.
- To accept those new distillers/small businesses who have already invested in the expense of a column type still, but now also want to try their hand at making a Single Malt.
- To allow for innovations, including the use of previously extinct still types; take for instance the revived Three Chamber Still at Leopold Bros in Denver, Colorado.
There are no additional designations enacted that mirror the Scotch Whisky Associations definitions around Single Grain, Blended Malt, Blended Grain, or Blended Whisky. In some ways, the definition of American Light Whiskey or American Whiskey can match many of these styles.
There is no minimum age requirement. This is because of the wide climatic variations that occur across the US.

Notable difference between ASMW and Bourbon:

American Single Malt can use any kind of new or used oak cask, charred or uncharred. Bourbon can only use New Charred American Oak for storage.
Bourbon does not allow for any caramel colouring where ASMW does.

In Part Four, we’ll go over whiskey’s westward expansion and finally come back around to the original inspiration for this series – Tombstone and the “Wild, Wild, West!”

Review

New Riff Sour Mash Single Malt, 2024 release, 57% ABV
USD$79 paid (£64)

There are many whiskies that need no introduction in our circles such as Springbank or Bunnahabhain. This whiskey, however, probably does need a proper introduction...

New Riff proudly proclaims on the top of every bottle that they are, “Beholden to no Tradition, Inspired by them all.” Their other, more widely advertised tagline is that they are a “New Riff on an Old Tradition.” I’m not super sure which tagline is better suited to set the stage for this single malt conceptually. Perhaps it's a little bit of both…

Malt whiskies are nothing new to New Riff, having first dabbled with them back in 2014. According to company lore, head distiller Brian Sprance had been “...kicking around the possibility of running a malt whiskey on our column beer still...” even before they were incorporated. They consider it “...a style of whiskey that does have a historical basis in Kentucky, but it's not one that’s frequently made and even less frequently bottled for the public.”

They stepped their way through malt whiskey production one barley variety at a time, dubbing them Single Malt Projects, or “SMPs”. They ran 5 individual barley distillation projects including:

SMP1 - Maris Otter: often used for craft beers. It's a “...classic British barley variety that powers many of that country’s greatest pale ales and barleywines.”
SMP2 - Golden Promise: Another UK favourite. You can read more about Golden Promise here at Dramface. This malt came away as a favourite among the staff and would eventually become central to their production malts.
SMP3 – Barleywine style: Inspired by craft beers like Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot, this malt is made up from two-row malted barley, toasted crystal malts, and some heavily roasted chocolate malt.
SMP4 – Belgian Quad: considered heady, bready, and dark. This mash uses Special B and CaraBelge. This turned out to be another fan favourite and became part of the backbone of their production Sour Mash Single Malts.
SMP5 – Scottish Peated Malted Barley: was used as a nod to the “Old Tradition” in their tagline.

These early projects used a combo of cooperages, including STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) barrels as well as some new charred oak. They also experimented with French Burgundy, Portuguese Brandy, and Oloroso sherry casks.

Lastly, reading through the distillery’s webpage you find some interesting nuggets, starting with:

“To a certain extent, there’s nothing revolutionary about New Riff’s process. We make sour mash whiskey, like all the big/huge distilleries in Kentucky. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.”

Looking into these details, we find...

“Every batch of New Riff whiskey is sour mashed in accord with the Kentucky Regimen...”

“We allow a slow, natural, rise in fermentation temperature over a patient <open topped> four-day fermentation; collecting flavors from our native microflora all along the way.”

“...at least four years in a full-size 53-gallon barrel for any New Riff whiskey. You’ll find no small-barrel shortcuts...”

The 2023 edition: They used six cask types for their first production run: new charred oak, used STR and ST (STR without the re-char), Red wine, Portuguese brandy casks, and Oloroso sherry barrels.

From here, they “proceeded to conceive a Scotch-inspired blending strategy” that considered two of their five malts as the Base, and two of them as the Top Dressing, and then the peated Scottish malt last.

SMP1 became 16% of the blend,

SMP2’s Golden Promise became 35% of the blend

The SMP3 barleywine contributed roughly 9% with its dash of chocolate malt. It wound up being the Top Dressing with its “tannic and drying intensity.”
SMP4 Belgian Quad became 28% and is considered the MVP “Secret Weapon” and unsung hero of the blend.

SMP5 Scottish Peated barley contributed the remaining ~10%.

The 2024 edition: The release I have here with me to review evolves on the themes from 2023. This batch is made up from a combination of the same five different mashbills and again matured in a multiplicity of cask types. The 2024 release adds a year to the 2023’s vintage, totalling up to 9 years old. The barrel combination now adds some reused Madeira casks to the mix.

So let me start off by saying that this is not one of those “distillate driven whiskies”. This whiskey is not subtle. This whiskey is not delicate or floral. The combination of barley varieties and cask types used for maturation is dizzying and bold.

This is one of those whiskies that needs time and air, both in the glass as well as within the bottle. I’ve noticed that prolonged exposure to oxygen has helped to ease some of the sharper, charred woody edges off of this otherwise aggressive dram. For what it lacks in immediate returns like an Ardnahoe or Benromach, it rewards those who can patiently wait. Pour a dram and let it sit for maybe 10-15 minutes. Take your time nosing it and watch it evolve from bourbon-esque barrel char to malty sweetness, fermenting grapes, sherry, and tobacco leaf.

This whiskey has been a tough one for me to sell to my fellow whiskey nerds as they have yet to fully embrace it. I chalk that up to time - when the usual whiskey tasting is held within the span of an evening and skips from glass to glass, it's hard to give this New Riff the time it needs to mellow out and present itself well. I’ve also noticed that, as I move past the shoulder and into the body of the bottle, each new dram is a little bit better than the last.

The color is auburn, or something like polished mahogany, and is fairly dark on the spectrum. This is no doubt thanks to the new charred oak and STR barrels. There’s a beautiful viscosity to this dram - it coats the glass and forms a bead around the top that clings in place for minutes at a time. Then a dozen or so thick tears drain the whiskey slowly back down into the bowl. There’s a bit of visual drama to this single malt that I enjoy watching unfold.

Nose

After this whiskey has some time to air out a bit, nosing it rewards with a whole range of flavors and aromas that change each time you come to it. The other day I got some slight sour notes or something like a sourdough starter. Tonight, its Oloroso sherry mixed with the tannins of a red wine, spearmint and oak. Molasses shortbread cookies. There are dark, fruity sweet notes - something like sun dried raisins or plums. Sometimes there are some musty old cabinet vibes, especially with a Glencairn topper applied. Pecans or pecan wood. Especially when they’re incorporated into a brown sugar cake. Some other notes I get depending on the pass include dried spices, ginger, and white pepper.

Whatever peatiness that comes from the imported Scottish barley is distant and faint. This is not what I would call a ‘peaty’ whisky, but I would call it rugged and complex. The peat could be adding some general smokiness as well as some tobacco type aromas. Adding a few drops of water brought out some more of that burned, woody peat. Definitely not a medicinal peat.

Palate

Just like when nosing this dram, the 57% ABV is a bit hot - and again, softens with time in the glass. Like many other ASMW’s - this is very oak-forward whiskey. The STR and new charred oak casks are right up front and unmistakable. As the initial barrel influence fades though, it follows up with rolling waves of blackcurrant and red wine gums. Orange citrus zest. Sherry oak with some nutmeg and cocoa powder. White and black pepper comes in strong.

This is a sweet, sour and bitter flavor collage that evolves with every glass. The last sips allude to something creamy and syrupy.

A few drops of water rounds the woody edges off and highlights the barley sugary sweetness. Splashes of toasty, melted marshmallows.

The Dregs

My ASMW Chapter 1 whiskey was an ode to the classically produced Golden Moon Single Malt from Colorado - something I felt was within the style of a Glenmorangie 10 (but turned up to 11) and Chapter 2’s whiskey was an unavoidable acknowledgement to America’s historical love affair with rye. This Sour Mash Single Malt from New Riff is perhaps the best way to celebrate Kentucky’s contribution to American Single Malt. It takes several elements and techniques from the Kentucky Regimen for making bourbon and reworks them for use on malted barley.

I’ve had moments where this New Riff has reminded me of Bruichladdich’s Classic Laddie - but just like the Golden Moon’s spin on Glenmo’s 12, so too does this dram “turn it up to 11.” It shares the Classic Laddie’s style of vatting multiple casks - but to much greater effect. There’s more of everything here, especially those barrel influences.

This would be a fun distillate to try right out of the still - presented without all the ST, STR and virgin charred oak. If New Riff wants to communicate how the Kentucky Regimen adds something genuinely unique to whiskey, then I think they may want to consider letting some of that original distillate shine through.

This New Riff carries a price point of $79 USD - which for naturally presented, age stated, unchill-filtered, 57% ABV, and cask finished single malt is fairly well priced. Consider other natural, high ABV, limited run whiskies like the Cairdeas line from Laphroaig, the Port Charlotte SYC:01 or PMC:01 from Bruichladdich, or the Glenallachie 10 Cask Strength. It also makes a great comparison against any number of single barrel bourbons. All of these are all 10, 20, 30, or even $50 USD more expensive than this offering from New Riff.

So who is this whiskey made for? Well - for malt-curious bourbon fans. This is a very compelling bridge-whiskey that they could potentially find a connection with. I also think it would make for an interesting (if not powerful) introduction to ASMW for curious Single Malt fans from across the pond. I also think this is a ‘must try’ for American Single Malt fans who have already started their explorations.

If New Riff happens to see this review (and I hope that they do), here’s what would bring me back for another bottle (or two or three): tone down the STR and new charred oak treatments. Dig back into your inventory of ex-bourbon barrels and put a few of those to work in your next vatting. Allow some more of that Golden Promise and Barleywine distillate to shine through. Let us as consumers see what you found to be so compelling about those barley varieties. Bring us along the SMP journey with you…and give those gorgeous ex-Madeira casks some room to shine as well.

As far as a score goes - this is a solid 7 for me. The combination of flavor train, interesting backstory, unique production, natural presentation, higher ABV, and reasonable price makes this a fun addition to the cabinet. I think New Riff has a real winner on their hands here and with some slight maturation tweaking they’d be looking at an easy Dramface 8+.

Score: 7/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EMc

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