Malted Oats and Chocolate Malt Make Unlikely Friends in New Riff’s Winter Whiskey

(Photo: New Riff)

Last week, Kentucky-based New Riff Distilling toasted the holiday season with the return of its fan-favorite Winter Whiskey.

The batch, first introduced in 2020, begins with an unconventional mashbill of 65% corn, 20% malted oats, 7% pale ale malt, 5% steel-cut raw oats and 3% chocolate malt. The expression is then matured for four years, non-chill filtered and bottled in bond at 100 proof. Much like the brand’s recently released Biscuit Malt Rye, the whiskey is intended as a celebration of spice and roast by way of unexpected ingredients.

Kentucky locals can purchase Winter Whiskey at the New Riff distilling gift shop beginning Friday. The expression hosts a suggested retail price of $54.99 and is slated to begin shipping online in weeks to come.

“Winter Whiskey offers a classic bourbon foundation of clean, sweet corn, enhanced with layers of malty, nutty and dark chocolate flavors,” master distiller Brian Sprance remarked in a news release. “Inspired by years of brewing expertise, Winter Whiskey reimagines the essence of a classic oatmeal stout, creating a non-traditional, one-of-a-kind bourbon.”

We had a chance to try this bottling a few years back and found that it was decidedly sweet, brimming with tons more brown sugar, toffee and confectioner’s sugar than one might expect from an oats-heavy recipe. Other reviewers seemed to agree; Christopher Null over at Drinkhacker narrowed in on a mix of chocolate, salted caramel and white pepper, while The Bourbon Finder complimented hints of ice cream and pralines. The expression currently holds a Raided Score® of 87 on our site.

For more information on the release, find the New Riff website here.