New Riff Distilling announced the latest release of its award-winning Single Malt whiskey, a 2025 version that showcases some of the distillery’s oldest malt whiskeys up to 10 years of age. New Riff started distilling batches of malt whiskey shortly after its founding in 2014 and has continued to commemorate the time-honored heritage of malted barley with Kentucky’s sour mash traditions.
“Each year, we fine tune our Single Malt whiskey, flexing both our creativity and technical expertise to innovate and explore new dimensions of malt whiskey,” said Master Distiller Brian Sprance.
The earliest distillations of the guarded internal project started in the first few months of the distillery’s existence. Over the years, New Riff has explored additional mashbills and barrels, filling barrels at 110 proof and letting them age quietly in Northern Kentucky. This is the third annual release of Single Malt, each blend slightly different — but all delicious.
This year’s blend features a combination of three mashbills ranging from 7 to 10 years old finished in six different casks. The final blend was re-barreled into used oak for an extended maturation period, a process the Northern Kentucky distillery implemented for the first time with this Single Malt release. The 2025 Single Malt Whiskey is bottled without chill filtration at 115.2 proof with a mashbill made with 100% barley varietals — Maris Otter, Scottish peated barley, and a beer-inspired mashbill based on classic Barleywine — each offering a distinct flavor profile.
The six casks the malt whiskeys matured in include new charred oak, de-charred toasted oak, de-charred and re-charred oak, Madeira casks, Oloroso Sherry casks, and red wine casks.
“After experimenting with different blends, we were especially drawn to the way the Maris Otter, Barleywine and peated whiskies came together, resulting in a layered and complex flavor journey with depth and nuance that we think Single Malt fans will really appreciate,” said Sprance.
The 2025 release opens with a broad oak presence, developing to notes of dark fruit cacao nibs and citrus on the nose. The deep, oak-driven flavors are rounded out with the taste of red and dark fruits, cocoa powder and nutty malt with a zesty, fruity and smokey richness to finish. Adding a splash of water brings out a big Kentucky-style body with red and dark fruit, cocoa powder, grassy-nutty malt and warm smoke.
The 2025 Single Malt has a MSRP of $69.99 and will be available for purchase at New Riff’s distillery gift shop beginning Friday, May 2. It will also be available for online shipping and at select retail locations throughout the distiller’s distribution network in the coming weeks.