New Riff Bottled-In-Bond Winter Whiskey (2025)
Mike Rosen

Bourbon

January 29, 2026

Winter Whiskey was inspired by the New Riff team’s brewing roots and their love of chocolate oatmeal stouts. Master Distiller Brian Sprance says, “We took that beer recipe and reimagined it as a bourbon, exploring how chocolate malt and malted grains could translate through distillation. It’s an incredibly challenging whiskey to make, but it’s a challenge we look forward to every time. The result is a non-traditional, one-of-a-kind expression that marries rich, malty chocolate flavors with the classic vanilla and char of the barrel.” Winter Whiskey is a non-chill filtered, bottled-in-bond, Kentucky bourbon whiskey with a unique mash bill containing 65% corn, 20% malted oats, 7% pale ale malt, 5% steel cut raw oats, and 3% chocolate malt. Let’s get started!

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 10 minutes.

Distillery: New Riff Distilling.

Proof: 100. Non-chill filtered.

Age: At least 4 years.

Mash bill: 65% Corn/20% Malted Oats/7% Pale Ale Malt/5% Steel Cut Raw Oats/3% Chocolate Malt.

Retail Price: $64.99

Appearance: Golden caramel.

Nose

Crème Brulé, Werther’s caramel, milk chocolate, Whoppers malted milk balls, espresso, black tea, apricots, orange citrus, vanilla beans, cloves, mint, nutmeg, anise, oatmeal, pecans, and allspice. Along with the sweet, malt, and chocolate notes, there’s also quite a bit of herbal notes that add a nice balance and complexity to this profile. This nose is excellent and unique.

Palate

With a good creamy, medium mouthfeel, the palate matches the nose, with cold-brew coffee, chocolate, malt, toffee, apricots, biscotti, nutmeg, peppermint tea, oats, pecans, and allspice. The star of this profile is its malty chocolate flavors, but I also love the coffee note, which reminds me of a chocolate coffee stout. I also don’t mind this being a 50% ABV expression. This is a super enjoyable sipper while still maintaining plenty of flavor.

Finish

Caffè latte, milk chocolate, Whoppers, orange peel, apricot, vanilla, cloves, anise, peppermint, nutmeg, toasted oak, and soft leather. As time passes, more tannins of toasted and musty oak come through, landing on a soft, medium-long finish.

Conclusion

Stout is my beer preference, but it isn’t everyone’s jam, and I’m sure the same is true for this whiskey. In fact, I can’t think of another bourbon I’ve had that’s more off the beaten path than this one. Wait. Scratch that. I can hear my collection of Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Batches telling me they’d like a word.

It’s crazy how close this release is to a chocolate-coffee oatmeal stout reimagined as a whiskey. I also appreciate the unexpected herbal notes I typically find in a rye whiskey, which add complexity and balance, while fitting the theme of a Winter release. The Pale Ale and Chocolate malted barley in the mash bill give this whiskey its stout character, while also bringing an underlying malt note similar to an American Single Malt or Scotch.

The more I got into this oddball bourbon, the more I loved it. It’s a fun release that I’ve been enjoying a lot, but it’s not for everyone. If you enjoy stout beer, rye whiskey, ASMs, Scotch, or are feeling adventurous in your whiskey journey, New Riff Bottled-In-Bond Winter Whiskey might be for you. Even if it’s not, you have to admire New Riff’s skill and dedication to their craft. I love how they think outside the box with fun releases like this.

Rating: 7.3/10.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.

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