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This week on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we’re diving into a packed lineup of new whiskey releases before revisiting one of my favorite barrel-strength rye whiskeys of all time: Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye. New Riff is releasing its oldest Headliner blend yet, featuring 10+ year components including malted rye bourbon, rye, and Balboa rye. Bardstown Bourbon Company is getting tropical with Victoria Pineapple Finished Whiskey, a bourbon and rye blend finished in pineapple rum casks with fresh pineapple added to the barrel. Yellowstone is back with a limited edition finished in ruby and tawny port casks, and Heaven Hill is unveiling a first-of-its-kind Double Mash Bottled-in-Bond bourbon that blends its traditional bourbon mash bill with its wheated bourbon mash bill. Then it’s time for a Byte-Sized Review of Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye. This 2016 release is one of the earlier batches of Michter’s barrel-strength rye, likely around 113–114 proof, and it gave me a very different experience than I remembered from later releases. Expect an herbaceous rye nose, mint, citrus, vintage copper notes, brown sugar, burnt sugar, oak, plum, cinnamon, clove, and a long holiday-spice finish. I used to think of Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye as one of my favorite rye whiskeys ever — but does this older bottle still hold up in 2026? Topics covered: • New Riff 2026 Headliner Blend • Bardstown Bourbon Company Victoria Pineapple Finished Whiskey • Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon • Heaven Hill Double Mash Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon • Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye review • How older Michter’s releases compare to modern bottles • Final score and whether vintage bottles are worth hunting Would you rather try Bardstown’s pineapple-finished whiskey or hunt down an older Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye? YouTube Chapter Markers: 00:00 Intro – New Riff, Bardstown, Heaven Hill & Michter’s Rye 00:28 Welcome + Episode Setup 01:23 New Riff 2026 Headliner Blend 03:54 Bardstown Victoria Pineapple Finished Whiskey 06:05 Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon 06:58 Heaven Hill Double Mash Bottled-in-Bond 08:22 Byte-Sized Review – Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye 15:34 Re-Reviewing Old Favorites + Outro
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites Podcast, New Riff drops its oldest headliner blend ever, Bardstown
0:06
Bourbon Company goes tropical, and Heaven Hill unveils a first-of-its-kind double mash
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Plus, I'm revisiting one of my favorite barrel-strength rye whiskeys of all time
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hello everyone and welcome to the bourbon bites podcast i'm your host clifton and this is the week
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of july 23rd 2026 i feel like this month is lasting forever but i don't mind it i'm really
0:40
enjoying the weather out here in southern california and i feel a little guilty saying
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that because I know a lot of you guys are being hammered by just terrible weather around the
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country. So I feel for every one of those areas that are flooding or those massive heat waves
0:53
Just I hope it all chills out soon and we can get on with better days. But man, the weather this
1:00
time of year is so crazy. But today is not about that. Today is about the latest and greatest in
1:05
the world of whiskey in terms of news. And I'm really excited to be revisiting one of my favorite
1:10
whiskeys of all time so it's going to be a good episode hopefully you have a glass poured whether
1:15
it be a bourbon or a cup of coffee depending on the time of day or a little bit of both if it's
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one of those days because I get that too but our first news story comes to us from New Riff they
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are releasing their 2026 headliner blend this is their third year releasing this and it is a blend
1:32
of three distinct whiskeys all aged at least 10 years old now proceeds of this release will benefit
1:39
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Greater Cincinnati and Tri-State Trails, which is a
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great organization. I never really got a chance to volunteer with them, but I really wanted to
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when I was in college. I ended up going with another organization and helping out in some
1:52
lower-income schools instead, but Big Brothers Big Sisters is definitely one that I would have
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supported if I had more time on my hands. But this year's release features 50% of an 11-year-old
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malted rye bourbon, 25% of an 11-year-old rye, and 25% of a 10-year-old Balboa rye. So they're
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throwing all of their fun experimental releases into this headliner. This is the first time that
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every component is at least a decade old, and it's New Rift's first 50-50 bourbon and rye blend
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ever released. By the way, the label on this is super cool. I love it. It kind of reminds me a bit
2:25
of like a mix of a Avril Lavigne and like a Paramore album cover just with all the, you know
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bright text a little bit disjointed a little bit funky really really cool so check out the label if
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you haven't yet it's it's really exciting now personally i've not had a chance to try this one
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but i do love some of the experimental stuff that new riff does this one in particular is bottled
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without chill filtration and is bottled at 118.8 proof and it will retail for about 150 per bottle
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now it's going to be available starting this friday at the distillery for the new riff whiskey club
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members. There's a limit of one bottle per person and bottles must be picked up at the distillery
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No shipping is offered at this time. That's one of the saddest things about New Riff is, you know
3:07
it's hard to get these things out of Kentucky. They're so wildly popular. They rarely make it
3:12
out of the state. Sometimes I'll see them come out, you know, several months after. Like I just
3:17
saw the New Riff Winter Whiskey at my local store. I almost picked it up, but I figured I had enough
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bottles for next week's live stream. Next Thursday, I'm going to be doing a New Riff stream where I'm
3:27
comparing the bourbon and the rye to the eight-year version of the bourbon and rye so yeah i'm looking
3:32
forward to doing that stream next thursday on youtube youtube.com slash bourbon bites but yeah
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unfortunately i will not have this headliner blend for that live stream but i wanted to talk about it
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anyways because it is a really cool bottle it's for a really good cause and man 10 year old new
3:46
riff it's definitely getting up there in age i'm just excited to try the eight year next week
3:50
well speaking of new releases this one's a fun one barton stone bourbon company just announced
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their Victoria pineapple finished whiskey. Yeah, you heard that right. Pineapple finished whiskey
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This is a Kentucky exclusive and it is a marriage of mature bourbon and rye And they said they set out to explore flavors that could be achieved through patience process and barrel influence rather than shortcuts Dan Calloway who their master blender says
4:16
the goal was never to make a whiskey taste like pineapple. The goal was to understand what made these barrels so special in the first place
4:23
Now, this release is named after the Victoria Pineapple, which is apparently a variety celebrated for its intense sweetness
4:30
fragrant aroma, and historic connection to premium rum production on Barbados. So they aged this custom blend of bourbon and rye in Caribbean-sourced pineapple rum casks
4:41
And what is pineapple rum? Well, apparently, the production process of this actually added the Victoria pineapples directly into the rum for maturation
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Now, here's where it gets crazy. So Bardstown Bourbon Company seek to mirror the process
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So when they added their whiskey blend into this used barrel, they actually added fresh pineapple into it as well
5:02
And they let it sit there for 27 months. So they kind of replicated what was going on with this rum
5:08
I have no idea how this is going to taste. Listen, I've had pineapple flavored rum, but I've never had some of this distinctive, you know, pineapple matured rum
5:16
It sounds really, really cool. And I'm a big fan of Caribbean rum. So if I try this, I'm going to have to seek out a bottle of this pineapple rum to kind of get a sense of what that flavor profile is and see how it compares to a whiskey that's also been blended with pineapples in the barrel
5:32
Now, this was going to be bottled at 106 proof. It's going to be available at the Barstow Bourbon Company Distillery and Louisville Tasting Room starting this Friday as well for a suggested retail price of $140
5:45
It definitely seems like a fun summer drink. Haven't had a chance to try it
5:49
I don't know if any samples are on their way to me. If they are, I will definitely give this a review for you guys and let you know
5:55
I'll probably do a live stream where I compare it to the rum if it does come in. So, fingers crossed, but I'm not getting my hopes up
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this is a very limited release. Another limited release worth talking about is the new Yellowstone
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bourbon. This is their 11th release of their limited edition series. It is a blend of 7 and
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14 year old Kentucky straight bourbons finished in ruby and tawny port cask then married and bottled
6:18
at a potent 101 proof. That's their words not mine. I've tried some of these Yellowstone limited
6:24
edition releases in the past. They are good. They're quite a bit pricey for what they are
6:28
I think the flavor influence of the casks isn't as strong as I like it to be
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This one comes in at $99 for a 750 milliliter bottle, which is fair for a 7 to 14 year old bourbon blend
6:40
Now this isn't coming out until this August, but if you are a fan of Yellowstone releases, this sounds like one of their strongest finishes yet
6:47
I do love a port finish, so maybe this will be the one that changes my mind. Maybe this will be the Yellowstone that convinces me to finally start buying Yellowstone
6:55
And last new whiskey release, I got to talk about the new Heaven Hill Double Mash Bottled
7:00
in Bond. Now, this is a follow-up to the blue label Bottled in Bond that we all know and love
7:06
from Heaven Hill, but this one is basically the same label. It just is red, and it says Double Mash on it
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It is a nine-year-old Bottled in Bond bourbon, bottled at 100 proof, of course, and it unites
7:18
their traditional and weeded bourbon mash bills, which I think is, like I said, the
7:22
first of a kind for Heaven Hill. So they're taking two-thirds of their traditional mash bill, which is the 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley mash bill
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with one-third of their wheated bourbon mash bill, which is 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley
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So this is like combining a Elijah Craig with a larceny. Retail on it's only about $50
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They say it's limited quantities available nationwide, and it's going to start coming out this August
7:49
I think this is a fun companion to the Bottle and Bond Bourbon, And it kind of fits the middle ground between their old Fitzgerald seven year, which is now a regular release everywhere or limited, but still available
7:59
And their bottle and bond bourbon. It's kind of the blend of the two together, but even older
8:04
So I support it. I would love a chance to try it. I'm just a big fan of what Heaven Hill does
8:08
And both of those mash bills I'm a big fan of. And yeah I just excited to give those a try especially at the price point I think for a bottle and bond nine year old bourbon You can go wrong with that price All right well that does it for this week news Now it time to get into our bite review All right well if you saw the thumbnail of this podcast you know that I
8:37
am drinking Michter's Barrel Strength Rye. And this was one of the first cast strength ryes that
8:43
I ever fell in love with. Now this was originally released back in 2015. I was not drinking bourbon
8:49
at all in that time period. I was barely old enough to drink at all but I did try a 2019 release of
8:56
this that made me fall in love with Michter's in general. So I'm very excited to revisit or visit
9:01
for the first time for me a 2016 version of it. Now this is essentially just a barrel strength
9:07
version of standard Michter's rye. There's not an age statement but it's believed to be about six to
9:12
eight years old. And what's unique about MGTIRs is their barrel entry proof is only 103 proof
9:18
So it's interesting to see these come in at different proof points when they're bottled
9:23
Now I don't have the specific proof of this one, but looking at its sister barrels
9:27
it's around 113 to 114 proof just based on other ones. This is barrel number 16C410
9:34
but others in the similar range are right around 113, 114. So I'm just going to guess this is
9:39
around that proof
10:09
oh wow man that even just smells old I mean it has that vintage character that I've gotten on some
10:15
some other whiskeys from around that time period like I said I wasn't drinking at the time but I've
10:20
been fortunate enough to find some older bottles of like wild turkey and the you know 2011 to 2015
10:26
age range which isn't that long ago but honestly in the scheme of things you know that's 10 plus
10:30
years so the flavor profile I think has changed quite a bit from back then and I can just get it
10:36
on the nose. This has a little bit of that copper note that I get on some older whiskeys. But one
10:41
thing's for sure, this is definitely a rye. This is reading very, very herbaceous on the nose. I
10:48
would say minty, but it's weird because it's like a minty and like a citrus thing happening at the
10:53
same time. Very, very bright. Like I said, very different from a bourbon. It's got some nice
10:58
baking spices there. Definitely more like a traditional rye bread kind of note, just amped
11:04
up with that herbaceous like menthol kind of thing going on there's definitely a bit of sweetness
11:09
there but it's leaning more floral and again back in the the plant world of things it's unique for
11:15
sure it's definitely not like i remember on the nose but let's see how it holds up on the palette
11:20
cheers ah there we go that is the flavor that i love wow crazy different from the nose i mean it
11:29
has a little bit of that vintage quality that i was getting on the nose but this is so much richer
11:33
on the palate and honestly it drinks a really decent proof. Like it's a little hot but the nose
11:39
makes you think it's going to be higher proof than it is. On the palate it lingers on the mid palate
11:44
and finish and really goes deeper and darker than I would have ever expected based on that nose alone
11:50
It's like a blend of brown sugar and a little bit of like burnt sugar like a little bit too
11:54
caramelized sugar but it kind of rounds out those brighter notes from the nose and kind of makes it
11:59
more cohesive in general. And there's definitely a lot of oak happening here. I mean, like I said
12:04
six to eight years old is what this is expected to be. I would guess maybe this initial release
12:08
is potentially older just because that oak is showing up in such a strong way on the palate
12:14
I didn't get it on the nose, but on the palate, it is there, it is rich, and it's definitely
12:18
competing with some of those sweeter notes because it has that tannic element to it
12:23
The more and more I drink it the more spicy it is on the palate but it like a spiced fruit You know on my live stream last week I was reviewing a rum that had a very specific Christmas or like holiday spice to it This is almost in that territory And I said that was very much clove or cardamom This is definitely
12:39
leading towards cinnamon and clove, which are rare to me on a rye whiskey. I think honestly
12:44
this is one of the more unique tasting rye whiskeys I've ever had. And there's definitely
12:49
a little bit of fruitiness here. If there's anything I can relate it to, I would say a little bit of like a plum and I think that kind of complements that cinnamon and clove flavor that
12:57
I'm getting. It kind of reminds me of a bit of a holiday spice. Finish is of course nice and long
13:02
leans back in towards that herbal element. A little bit menthol on the very end of the finish
13:06
which I was getting on the nose so it kind of makes sense to kind of round out that way as well
13:11
I mean overall this is a very unique whiskey. It definitely doesn't taste like I remember it
13:16
tasting but of course I first had it about seven years ago and this release is from 10 years ago
13:21
So things change. This is obviously some of their source distillate. I'm not exactly sure where it's from, but this is definitely different than I remember it tasting
13:30
That being said, it's still very good and it's very much unlike most cast strength rye whiskeys you can get today
13:37
Now retail on this was $75 when it first came out. I think more recently retail has been closer to $120
13:44
I think that's a very fair price. Listen, it's always weird revisiting these older whiskeys for review because it's going to be a bit different than your experience if you pick up a bottle today
13:53
But if you do see a vintage bottle of this from 2015 or 2016, I want to let you know how I think about it in 2026
14:01
Is it worth paying the secondary for a vintage bottle? Well, let's go ahead and get into our rating because we rate everything out of a 1 to 10 scale here
14:09
We don't complicate it with different scores of nose, palate, finish, anything like that
14:13
it's just a single score for a single whiskey. And while this is incredibly unique, it's a little
14:18
bit different from what I'm used to with some of their more recent releases. But that being said
14:23
it's really cool to try something from 10 years ago, especially one of their first releases of
14:28
Barrel Strength Rye. It's interesting to see how it's evolved. I personally think it's better now
14:33
than it was back then, but I'm still going to give this a solid 7 out of 10. Definitely nowhere near
14:38
as good as some of the ones I've loved. Of course, I love their toasted rye at barrel strength even
14:44
more than the barrel strength rye, but I've given the barrel strength rye from 2019 that I had. I
14:48
think I gave that a 10 out of 10 when I reviewed it on my YouTube channel. So this one is not quite
14:53
up there in terms of what I remember, but you know, memory fades, things change. Maybe this is just a
15:00
specific bottling of it that just wasn't quite my jam, but 7 out of 10 is a solid score for a barrel
15:07
strength rye. Personally, I would have loved if the nose was a little bit more rich. I would have
15:12
loved if the palette was a little bit brighter. And finish, I wouldn't actually change anything
15:17
about the finish. The finish is great. But I just think they're a little bit mismatched in terms of
15:21
nose and palette. I wish they would have kind of been a little bit more similar because they're
15:24
great things in both of them. But competing, they're a little odd. So if you get a chance to
15:29
try an older release of this, definitely give it a try. I just personally have preferred the later
15:33
releases and will continue to seek them out. If there's any other whiskies that you'd like me to
15:38
re-review or revisit since starting my YouTube channel, please let me know. I mean, I've been
15:42
doing videos on there since 2018. I've been doing whiskey reviews, so there's definitely, my palate
15:48
has changed quite a bit, I'm sure, and there's definitely some whiskeys that have changed as well
15:53
so would be really fun to revisit some of my previous favorites or some of my previous
15:58
not-so-favorites and see how I feel about them today. Let me know if that's something you want
16:03
to see. You can join our Discord server at bourbonbites.com. Leave any feedback or suggestions
16:08
you want. I'm always happy to have them. You can also email me, contact at bourbonbites.com
16:13
But until next time, this has been the Bourbon Bites Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming
16:18
twist. I'm your host Clifton. Cheers, and I will talk to you next week. Bye
16:33
you
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