Whisky Advocate: Kentucky’s New Riff Lines Up “Transformational Year”

Newport, Kentucky-based New Riff is gearing up for a “transformational year,” according to co-founder and CEO Ken Lewis, which includes a great deal of innovation, older releases, and expansion into additional states. While New Riff bills itself as a “small distillery,” it’s in fact one of the bigger independent distilleries in Kentucky, and has built upon its capacity considerably since it opened.

It underwent a $2 million expansion in 2021, adding 800 square feet of space that allowed for three additional open-top fermenters; now, it can produce 12,000 barrels of whiskey each year, up from 8,000 barrels when it started. The following year, the distillery built a new warehouse in nearby Silver Grove, Kentucky that’s capable of holding 40,000 barrels, with room for further expansion.

In terms of new whiskey, co-founder Jay Erisman notes that from the very beginning, it has put aside 20%-30% of every release for further aging, meaning that we may very well see some 10 year old bourbon, rye, and/or malt whiskey from New Riff this year, in addition to further exploration of heirloom grains and styles of whiskey. Whisky Advocate has the full story.

Tagged : New Riff, Whisky Advocate

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