New Riff's standard rye is built on a mash of 95 percent rye and 5 percent malted barley — the classic Kentucky rye blueprint. The Malted Rye throws that template out and rebuilds it: 100 percent rye grain, with the rye itself malted before milling. Malting is the process of allowing grain to sprout and then drying it, and it transforms rye in much the same way it transforms barley, unlocking sweeter, nuttier flavours and a richer texture.
Malted rye is notoriously difficult to work with. It is sticky, gummy and prone to clogging equipment, which is why most American distillers avoid it entirely. New Riff's decision to bottle a 100 percent malted rye — Bottled in Bond, non-chill filtered, aged for at least four years in their Newport rickhouses — was a statement of intent from a young distillery willing to do the hard things because they taste better.
The result is a rye that feels softer and fuller than its unmalted sibling, trading some of the green, grassy spice for honeyed malt, stewed fruit and a cocoa-edged depth. The rye character is still unmistakable, but it comes wrapped in warmth rather than wielded like a knife. For drinkers who find straight rye too sharp and straight bourbon too sweet, Malted Rye lands in a remarkably satisfying middle ground.
