New Riff Balboa Rye 2025 Review: A Bold Take on Heirloom Rye
This liquid is its own animal, a whiskey that, tasted blind, might fool a few folks into thinking it's a low-rye bourbon. Get a bottle and let the fun begin.
BOTTLE DETAILS
- DISTILLER: New Riff Distilling
- MASH BILL: 95% Balboa Rye | 5% Malted Rye
- AGE: At least 4 years
- YEAR: 2025
- PROOF: 100 (50% ABV)
- MSRP: $54.99
- BUY ONLINE: New Riff Online Bottle Shop
STEVE'S NOTES
SHARE WITH: People who love rye, of course, but really for people who think they don't like rye–and don't tell them you're pouring a rye.
WORTH THE PRICE: Uh, yeah! $55 for a whiskey this fun? All day, friends!
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bottle and bar. If you've not had it, but see it on a backbar, get it.
OVERALL: The nose leads with star anise, lemon rind, dill, smoldering lumber, toasted grain, cotton candy and some nostril-prickling ethanol. Hang with it, though, because the reward is dark chocolate.
It's an easy drinker that moves about the palate amiably. It's medium-bodied though coating, and it drops the appropriate tingle of spice in every corner and crevice, bringing warmth like a friendly neighbor. There's a little milk chocolate on the finish, which is barely dry, warming and laden with spiced orange.
In a brief email exchange I had with New Riff co-founder Jay Erisman advised working some space into the bottle and then letting it rest unbothered for a bit.
"Let it open up. (O)ur natural, unfiltered whiskeys do change and develop over a day or two as the air hits them," Erisman said. "This is entirely characteristic of non-chill-filtered spirits, and I've seen it elsewhere in Scotch, Cognac, tequila and mezcal and more. In fact, there's probably a nice story or podcast in there about unfiltered boozes and how they change, and the phenomenon–it's real–of the neck poor."
So, doing as advised, I revisited it a week later. While the nose stayed largely the same, the palate was emboldened by new notes of root beer candy and clove. Its orange flavors were sharpened to Cointreau-like by an undercurrent of cedar; peppery almost and begging to be swirled into a cocktail.
Part of the fun of this spirit is, despite its 100 percent rye mash bill, it drinks neither like a WhistlePig white pepper bomb nor a Michter's corn-cushioned Kentucky-style rye. This liquid is its own animal, a whiskey that, tasted blind, might fool a few folks into thinking it's a low-rye bourbon. Get a bottle and let the fun begin.
BRAND NOTES
Balboa rye is an heirloom grain dating back to the 1940s and was a very popular rye variety in the region. New Riff has distilled batches of Balboa rye for years, likely the first distillery to do so in decades and the only known example currently on the market.
Bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof with a mash bill of 95% Balboa rye and 5% malted rye, Balboa Rye opens with spiced, red fruit and clove notes, progressing to hints of pure rye bread and black and white pepper with an emergence of a horehound candy and pink peppercorn presence to finish.
“Balboa Rye holds a special place in our hearts and in the story of New Riff, as it's the first whiskey ‘riff’ that we created with an heirloom grain,” said co-founder and vice president Jay Erisman. “When we first encountered Balboa rye from our trusted corn farmer, we knew it had the potential to create something truly extraordinary. Now having expanded Balboa production, we’re excited in 2025 to bring it back for the first time in over a year."
Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter received a sample of this product from the brand for review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.