New Riff 8 Year Bourbon is the bottle we point to when a guest wants to taste what a few extra years in oak does to an already excellent bourbon. It takes New Riff Distilling’s high-rye recipe and gives it a minimum of eight years in the barrel, trading some of the youthful spice for a deeper, oakier, more rounded character. It has become one of the more sought-after pours on our shelf here in West Seattle.
About the Distillery
New Riff Distilling sits in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Since opening in 2014, the independent distillery has built a strong reputation on transparency and old-school methods: full sour-mash Kentucky production, age statements on every bottle, and a default commitment to bottled-in-bond standards. This 8 Year release is a showcase of how well that grain-to-glass discipline ages.
Style & Mash Bill
This is a Kentucky straight bourbon on New Riff’s signature high-rye mash bill of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, bottled at 100 proof without chill filtration. Worth noting: unlike New Riff’s core bottled-in-bond bourbon, the 8 Year is intentionally not labeled bottled-in-bond, because the distillery wanted the freedom to marry barrels from more than one distilling season to hit a consistent flavor profile.
Tasting Notes
The extra age shows. The high-rye spice is still there, but it is wrapped in oak, with notes of caramel, brown sugar, and a buttery, mellow richness. The finish is long and oaky, smoother and more rounded than the younger expression. It drinks like a more contemplative version of the New Riff house style.
How to Enjoy It at Camp West
Our pour is $21. With this much age, we recommend savoring it neat or over a single large rock so the oak and depth can show. It is a sipping bourbon first and foremost, though it would not be wasted in a top-shelf Old Fashioned. Ask your bartender.
FAQ
Is the 8 Year bottled-in-bond? No. New Riff waived bottled-in-bond status on this release so it could blend barrels across distilling seasons for a consistent profile.
How is it different from standard New Riff Bourbon? Same high-rye mash bill, but a minimum of eight years in oak gives it a deeper, oakier, more mellow character.
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