New Riff Backsetter Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon 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: 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.