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New Riff 8 Year vs Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel
New Riff 8 Year and Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: a new-wave, rye-forward craft style versus an old-guard, classically built classic.
Key Specifications
| Feature | New Riff 8 Year | Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Traditional Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley | 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley |
| Age | 8 years | 10 years +2 yr |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$65 – $70 | ~$40 – $70 ~$13 less |
| Availability | Widely available easier to find | Limited |
- US shelf prices as of 2026-10; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
New Riff 8 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
New Riff 8 Year Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 8/5 spice: New Riff 8 Year 8 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 5 out of 10
nuttiness 3/5 nuttiness: New Riff 8 Year 3 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 5 out of 10
oak 7/8 oak: New Riff 8 Year 7 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 8 out of 10
fruit 5/4 fruit: New Riff 8 Year 5 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 4 out of 10
sweetness 6/6 sweetness: New Riff 8 Year 6 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 6 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: New Riff 8 Year 5 out of 10, Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The gap between these two is mostly about spice.
- New Riff 8 Year: The older, deeper version of New Riff's bonded bourbon. Same 30% rye recipe, but eight years add richer oak and darker sugar while keeping the spice front and center.
- Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel: A ten-year bonded single barrel, which is a specification almost nothing else on the shelf matches. Dry and oak-forward with real age showing, though barrel variation means bottles differ more than most.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with New Riff 8 Year if you want an older, deeper take on New Riff's spicy high-rye recipe without hunting for it and with the texture that comes from skipping chill filtration.
- Go with Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel if you want a bonded, ten-year single barrel with genuine age at a sane price.
Best enjoyed neat, old-fashioned (New Riff 8 Year); neat, rocks (Henry McKenna 10 Year Single Barrel).