New Riff Backsetter Bottled in Bond Peated Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

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, the distillery has used backset collected from the 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.

Nose: Considerable peat at the front, hinting at the fruit and grassy rye. A splash of water detonates into a profound bouquet, as the peat retreats into stylish layers beneath a soaring top note of grassy rye and subtle cinnamon spice.
Taste: Medium-to full-bodied, rounded and chewy, again with quite a bit of peat, but it is lovely peat at that, in fact absolutely gorgeous peat that Islay would be proud of. A midpalate of sugared fruit and cinnamon-allspice heads to a finish of wafting smoke, stylishly dovetailed with the rye spice (Thai long black pepper, mineral, the grain of paradise).