New Riff Distilling sits right on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River in Newport, just across from Cincinnati’s skyline. Ken Lewis founded the distillery in 2014, bringing his decades of liquor industry experience to Kentucky’s bourbon scene. The operation opened its doors to visitors in 2017 in a 20,000-square-foot facility that houses both production and a sleek tasting room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river. They’re making bourbon, rye whiskey, and bottled-in-bond spirits with a focus on high-rye mash bills and full-proof bottlings.
Lewis spent years in the wine and spirits business before deciding to jump into distilling, partnering with master distiller Brian Sprance who came from Woodford Reserve. The duo wanted to create something that honored Kentucky bourbon traditions while pushing boundaries with higher rye content and bottled-in-bond specifications. They invested in copper pot stills from Vendome and built out a facility that could handle 750,000 proof gallons annually. The name comes from the New Riff limestone shelf that runs under the Ohio River, which they tap for their water source.
Visitors get to see the whole operation from grain to glass, with tours winding through the mash house, fermentation room, and barrel warehouse. The tasting room overlooks both the production floor and the Cincinnati skyline, giving you something to look at between sips. They’re serious about their whiskey but don’t take themselves too seriously, and the staff knows their stuff without being pretentious about it. The location makes it easy to hit if you’re doing a Cincinnati-area whiskey crawl.
