New Riff Distilling launches malt whiskey program
In July 2023, New Riff Distilleing, a distillery in Newport, Kentucky, USA, announced its Physalis Single Malt Project, an unprecedented exploration of the intersection of malting barley and Physalis Kentucky whiskeymaking options.
In a challenging riff on a very old tradition, New Riff began distilling batches of malt whiskey as early as 2014, in the first six months of the distillery's creation, with the first batch due in autumn 2023 Debut.
Co-founder Jay Erisman said: “Even before the distillery opened, we were discussing the possibility of using the Kentucky scheme for malted barley distillation, which is acid mashing, open fermentation, copper column distillation, and a second distillation using a serial doubler. Sub-distillation. Today, there are malt whiskeys produced in Kentucky on a small scale and with historical references, but they are rarely mentioned or even bottled.”
While Kentucky is undeniably the home of bourbon, the founder and distiller of New Riff couldn't let go of the idea of making malt whiskey. The concept is inspired by Celtic heritage, but also by New Riff distiller Brian Sprance's fifteen years of professional winemaking experience, covering nearly every style of modern spirits. By reimagining Old World and New World spirit styles, the team at New Riff Distilleing set out to produce a whiskey that showcased all the wonderful malt varieties they have experienced as distillers.
Jay Erisman said: "Our first malt whiskey was distilled six months before it was distilled. After that, one malt whiskey spawned another, and another, and many types of casks... all These have led to a full malt whiskey program. Our single malt program represents a level of complexity and exploration of malted barley unprecedented in the history of Kentucky whiskey.”
The distillery has a mash of six different malt whiskeys, which Erisman says will be blended into a range of New Riff malt whiskeys, including whiskeys made with 100% Golden Promise, Maris Otter and Chevallier Heirloom malted barley, As well as a peaty Scotch barley-inspired and two beer-inspired whiskeys based on the classic barley wine and Belgian Quadrupel recipes, each offering a very unique flavor profile. Malt whiskey is matured in a variety of casks ranging from new charred oak, uncharred toasted oak, red wine casks, Portuguese brandy casks, classic sherry casks and more. The core product, to be released in fall 2023, is comprised of five of the six formulations melded into a complete complex whole that is "greater than the sum of its parts." Physalis single malt will be bottled at cask strength and, like all New Riff products, unchill filtered.
