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New Riff 8 Year vs Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Put New Riff 8 Year next to Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond and you have a contemporary, high-rye craft build set against a contemporary, high-wheat craft build.
Key Specifications
| Feature | New Riff 8 Year | Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley | 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley |
| Age | 8 years +2 yr | 6 years |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$65 – $70 | ~$45 – $60 ~$15 less |
- 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.
Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
New Riff 8 Year Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 8/3 spice: New Riff 8 Year 8 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 3 out of 10
oak 7/5 oak: New Riff 8 Year 7 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
sweetness 6/7 sweetness: New Riff 8 Year 6 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 7 out of 10
fruit 5/6 fruit: New Riff 8 Year 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 6 out of 10
nuttiness 3/4 nuttiness: New Riff 8 Year 3 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 4 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: New Riff 8 Year 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 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.
- Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond: A sweet-mash, bonded wheated bourbon from a distillery founded by two fermentation scientists, and the technical care shows in how clean it tastes. One of the strongest craft arguments on the shelf.
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 with an older age statement.
- Go with Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond if you want a bonded, sweet-mash wheater from a modern distillery doing genuinely careful work at a lower price point.
Best enjoyed neat, old-fashioned (New Riff 8 Year); neat, rocks (Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond).