New Riff's Founding-Vintage Trio: Three Distillery-Exclusive 375s

New Riff opened its doors in 2014, and the math is finally catching up in the best possible way. Three COLAs approved on the same date tell a single story: the Newport, Kentucky distillery's founding-vintage whiskeys are ready for the spotlight, and this trio of half-bottles frames all three of New Riff's core grain programs at their oldest expressions to date.

New Riff 11-Year Bourbon Whiskey Made with Malted Rye

The label is clear and declarative: 11-year-old bourbon made with malted rye, in a 375 ml bottle stamped "1/100" — exactly one hundred of these will exist. The "Distillery Exclusive" callout and Master Distiller's handwritten signature confirm this is a Newport shop-only release, not a trade item. The filing lists 101.1 proof (50.55% ABV), though COLA-filed proofs are provisional and can shift before a bottle hits the shelf. What won't shift is New Riff's point of distinction: their use of malted rye rather than the industry-standard flaked rye in the bourbon mash bill has always set their house style apart, and at 11 years — the oldest bourbon from their founding vintage offered to date — that character is working with a decade-plus of barrel development behind it.

New Riff 10-Year Balboa Rye Whiskey

The Balboa program gets the same treatment: 375 ml, 1/100, Master Distiller-signed, Newport-only, with 101.1 proof listed on the label. Balboa is New Riff's heirloom rye grain program, built around a heritage variety the distillery has cited as likely the first used for whiskey production in decades — a legitimately rare-grain story in an era full of provenance marketing. The standard Balboa Rye (4-year, Bottled-in-Bond) has earned serious recognition — including Whisky Advocate's No. 4 ranking on its global list — making this 10-year look at the same grain a genuine curiosity: a decade of barrel time on a variety that barely existed in whiskey form before New Riff revived it.

New Riff 11-Year Rye Whiskey

The third piece is New Riff's flagship rye mash bill at 11 years — the longest-aged version of their core rye program filed to date. Same 375 ml, 1/100, distillery-exclusive format, same 101.1 proof listed. This mash bill has surfaced in blended form before — the 2025 Headliner vatting drew on 11-year flagship rye stock alongside Balboa Rye and older bourbon — but this bottling stands it alone. Where the Balboa bottling above is an heirloom-grain story, this one is a house-style-maturity story: how New Riff's flagship rye has developed over eleven years in the barrel.

All three were approved May 28, 2026, share identical specs, and carry the same founding-vintage framing. This reads as a deliberately curated retrospective set — not three releases that happened to land simultaneously, but a single program presented across three expressions. Given the 100-bottle ceiling on each, if you're within driving distance of Newport, watch New Riff's channels closely.