Review #572; Rye #48: New Riff Balboa Rye

This comes to us from craft distiller New Riff. This is part of their “experimental line” and is made from Balboa rye, an heirloom grain that dates back to the 1940’s. They distilled it as part of experimenting with the rye mashbill . The mashbill for this is 95% Balboa Rye and 5% malted rye and was aged for at least four years before being bottled with no chill filtration.

ABV: 50%

Nose: Green Apple, raspberry, rye spice, black pepper, mint

Palate: Medium mouthfeel. Green apple, tart raspberry, tart blueberry, faint caramel, black pepper, mint

Finish: Short finish, green apple, tart blueberry, faint caramel, black pepper, mint, a bit of chocolate.

Rating: 6/10

As far as rye offerings go this is unique. It is just jam packed full of tons of fruits, green apple, raspberry, wintergreen, spices. Its pretty bold and powerful too. It falls a little short for me though when it comes to the balancing of all these flavors. It’s a very good rye, but falls a bit short of greatness. I hope New Riff keeps experimenting, as they have been willing to in a spirits category that is hard to innovate in.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect