Ohio Division of Liquor Control (OHLQ) Announces New Riff Single Barrel - Available November 8th (Updated)

The Ohio Division of Liquor Control (OHLQ) has followed up the announcement of the Four Roses 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch raffle occurring on November 6th and the Old Forester Birthday Bourbon raffle occurring November 14th with the announcement of select New Riff Single Barrels available beginning at 9am on Friday, November 8th at select locations across the state (list below).

For this release, the State worked with Head Distiller Brian Sprance and co-founder Jay Erisman to select six unique barrels for Ohio. Additionally, the State included a store employee from Wagner's IGA and a raffle winner to help pick out the selections.

The bottles are aged 4 years and contain a mash bill of non-GMO grains at 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. They will go on sale for $49.99 + tax for a 750ml bottle.

As always with Single Barrel selections, each barrel should contain a unique flavor profile. However, they should share some of the below characteristics:

Nose: Butterscotch rounding into fresh oak, with hints of vanilla and rye spice.
Taste: Broad, fulsome mouthfeel, leading to a sweeter vanilla accent, before a gathering of rye spices (clove, cinnamon, mint, dark berry) into the finish.
Finish: Long, rye-led finish, with brambly red-black fruits amid white pepper and clove.

For the six barrels selected for Ohio, the individual profiles are:

Barrel 15-4569
Nose: Vanilla buttercream, orange zest, and white pepper
Taste: Dark fruits
Finish: Leathery and spicy

Barrel 15-4420
Nose: Buttercream, vanilla, and baking spices
Taste: Candied corn, citrusy rye, and polished oak
Finish: N/A

Barrel 15-4506
Nose: Rich almonds and dark cherry
Taste: Smoke and bittersweet chocolate and cinnamon
Finish: N/A

Barrel 15-4505
Nose: Maple syrup, dried apple, cinnamon toast, and bright oak
Taste: Dried black fruit, toast, baking spices, and cracked black pepper spice
Finish: Spicy cinnamon

Barrel 15-3199
Nose: Melon, citrus, and green floral
Taste: N/A
Finish: Mint and pistachio

Barrel 15-4433
Nose: Creme brulee, baking spices, and a hint of mint
Taste: Vanilla, toffee, oak, rye, and black pepper
Finish: Caramel and cinnamon


My Take

I absolutely love how insane some of the flavor profiles are.... imagine paying money to get something that tastes of polished oak (barrel 15-4420).

This is one of the times where it's important to pay attention to the details. This is listed as a single barrel not barrel proof. This means that New Riff most likely watered down the bourbon to get a uniform proof for all the barrels. I've reached out to the State for details and will update this post if I hear back.

However, at $49.99, this could be worth the effort. New Riff looks great on any bar and it's not far off from their non-single barrel price of $39.97. I'm going to sit this one out, but if you go to any of the locations on launch day I recommend getting there early. If you go, drop a note in the comments with your experience.

Update - 11/4/2019 - The proof on the bottles is 110, which is pretty good and adds to the value of this offering.

Locations (alphabetical by city)

Lake's Beverage
3963 S. Main St., Akron
96 Bottles, Barrel 15-4569

Kroger
1006 Washington Blvd., Belpre
72 Bottles, Barrel 15-3199

Giant Eagle     
6867 E Broad St., Columbus     
66 Bottles, Barrel 15-3199

Hyde Park Wine & Spirits           
2719 Madison Rd., Cincinnati   
90 Bottles, Barrel 15-4505

Fine Wine & True Spirits
6080 Wilmington Pike, Dayton 
66 Bottles, Barrel 15-3199

Chateau Wine & Spirits
6665 Sawmill Rd., Dublin
96 Bottles, Barrel 15-4505

Pauken Wine & Liquor 
221 Golden Gate Shopping Center, Maumee     
96 Bottles, Barrel 15-4569

Wagner's IGA Market   
257 E. Fourth St., Minster         
48 Bottles, Barrel 15-4433

Wagner's IGA Market
444 S. Washington St., New Bremen     
48 Bottles, Barrel 15-4433

Giant Eagle     
48 Vienna Ave., Niles   
102 Bottles, Barrel 15-4420

Giant Eagle     
34310 Aurora Rd., Solon           
120 Bottles, Barrel 15-4506

The Fine Wine & Tobacco         
26179 Detroit Rd., Westlake     
102 Bottles, Barrel 15-4420


Source: OHLQ