New Riff’s Balboa Rye is One of the Best Rye Whiskeys

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

There is so much good rye whiskey out there to choose from at the moment (case in point, last week’s review of the new Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye, a standout in the category). Given this abundance of whiskey riches, it can be hard to pinpoint one bottle that people should keep on their home bars, something to sip that also works well in cocktails. That being said, here’s one that fits the bill—New Riff Balboa Rye, which just made its return and is as good as ever.

New Riff was founded in 2013 by liquor retailer Ken Lewis and a few partners in Newport, Ky. For the first few years, the distillery released sourced whiskey, but as of 2018 it has been putting its own juice in bottles. Most of those are bottled-in-bond bourbon and rye (at least four years old, exactly 100 proof, and the product of one distillery and one distilling season). While there has been the occasional miss, most of the whiskey has been fantastic, including some of the best American single malt you can find today.

New Riff’s rye whiskey has stood out over the years. It’s made from a mashbill of 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted rye, kind of a unique twist on the classic MGP formula of 95 percent rye and five percent malted barley. It’s also very different from most of the rye that is made in Kentucky, which usually includes somewhere just above the 51 percent legally required rye grain in the mashbill. In its early days, New Riff decided to experiment with some different grain varietals, and in 2019 it released its first Balboa Rye, made from a grain that it says was popular in the 1940s (using same 95/5 formula). The distillery doesn’t explicitly call this an experiment with terroir, but it certainly is—Balboa Rye tastes quite different from the flagship rye, which is made from rye that comes from “the industry’s leading supplier of rye to the bourbon industry” in Northern Europe. Balboa Rye is non-chill filtered and bottled at 100 proof (the latter of which is required to be considered bottled-in-bond).

This is just a truly delicious rye whiskey. There is plenty of spice present, but it doesn’t veer into the extremely herbaceous territory that some whiskey made with this much rye does (a flavor note that some people love, it should be said). Cinnamon, black pepper, and nutmeg notes are balanced out by bright fruit flavors like red berries, baked apple, and Concord grapes, with classic notes of vanilla and maple popping up throughout. Sip this whiskey neat or over a large cube—at 100 proof, there’s a touch of heat, but obviously nothing that will blow out your palate. And definitely use this whiskey in a cocktail—I’ve been making Manhattans with previous releases for years, and it is a perfect match for some sweet vermouth and bitters.

So yes, there are other really good ryes that you should consider at around the same price point from brands like Knob Creek, Michter’s, and even MGP’s own Rossville Union. But if you haven’t tried Balboa Rye before, or if you’ve only explored New Riff’s core lineup, give this excellent new whiskey a try.

Score: 97

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