Backsetter Bourbon

Meet our latest riff on Kentucky’s wondrous whiskey traditions: introducing New Riff Backsetter Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, an ongoing exploration of the deep truths and deeper mysteries of the sour mash method.

Our Backsetters – one Bourbon and one Rye – released as a pair of absolutely unprecedented whiskeys are, like all New Riff whiskeys, crafted with the traditional, time honored Sour Mash Kentucky Regimen. Wherein a portion of grain “backset” from a prior distillation is added to the mash of a present batch. And they utilize the exact same mash bills as New Riff’s award winning standard Bourbon and Rye recipes. What’s different is exactly what they were sour mashed with…

For this opening Backsetter salvo, we have used backset collected from a distillation of peat-smoked malted barley, which lends a wonderfully smoky cast to the whiskeys. The resultant smoky flavor is hauntingly unique, with layers of peat enveloping spicy rich Rye and Bourbon, respectively.

Tasting Notes

BOTTLED IN BOND
WITHOUT CHILL FILTRATION
65% CORN, 30% RYE,
5% MALTED BARLEY
PEATED BACKSET
AGED AT LEAST 4 YEARS
100 PROOF (50% Alc/Vol)

Nose: Rich oak at the forefront, before a smokiness develops alongside typical confection. It opens considerably with water, yielding a broad field of grain, roasty-nutty confection and rye spice amid a smoky, smoldering backdrop.

Taste: Remarkably soft-textured at entry, with the peat more immediate than in the nose. Juicy and zesty, it quickly develops a spicy rye top note at midpalate join by smoke, oak, sweet corn, and grassy rye. The finish pings between smoky peat and peppery-clove rye note.

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