New Riff Distilling: Family Owned Bottled in Bond Whiskey in Newport

New Riff Distilling is in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. It is independently owned by one family and bottles every spirit without chill filtration.

Key facts

• Location: Newport, Kentucky

• Founded: 2014 by Ken Lewis

• Ownership: independent, one family

• Founder note: Ken Lewis is a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame

• Award: 2026 World's Best Bourbon at the World Whiskies Awards, as stated by the distillery

• Distribution: all 50 states, according to the distillery

History

Ken Lewis, a Kentucky liquor retailer and entrepreneur, founded New Riff in 2014. Whisky Magazine reported in June 2023 that Lewis was set to retire as CEO. In 2025 he was named Chair of the Kentucky Distillers' Association Board of Directors.

The distillery says it sits at the gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and aims to re-establish Northern Kentucky as a bourbon destination.

Approach

New Riff distills, ages and bottles its own spirits. It says it starts from Bottled in Bond and bottles every spirit without chill filtration.

Range

The official site lists:

• Bottled in Bond Bourbon and Bottled in Bond Rye

• 4 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon and Rye

• 8 Year Old Bourbon and Rye

• 6 Year Old Malted Rye

• Kentucky Wild Gin, Bourbon Barreled

From the official Our Story page

New Riff says it was founded in 2014 by Ken Lewis, a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, in Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. It states it is independently owned by one family, distils, ages and bottles its own spirits, bottles everything Bottled In Bond where stated and without chill filtration, and is sold in all 50 states. The site says its Bottled In Bond Bourbon was named 2026 World's Best Bourbon at the World Whiskies Awards.

Range listed on the official site

• Bottled In Bond Bourbon and Bottled In Bond Rye

• 4 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon and Rye

• 8 Year Old Bourbon and 8 Year Old Rye

• 6 Year Old Malted Rye

• Kentucky Wild Gin, Bourbon Barreled

The site also lists tours and experiences, The Aquifer tasting room and a gift shop. ABVs, hours and prices were not read.

Frequently asked questions

Where is New Riff?

Newport, Kentucky.

Who owns it?

One family. Ken Lewis founded it.

Does it offer tours?

The official site lists tours and experiences, a tasting room and a gift shop.

Sources and gaps

• New Riff official site, Our Story (newriffdistilling.com/our-story)

• Whisky Magazine, 20 June 2023, New Riff Distilling CEO Ken Lewis to retire

• Whisky.com distillery database entry for New Riff (snippet)

• New Riff official site, Our Story page (newriffdistilling.com/our-story), read 20 October 2026

Gaps: ABVs, mash bills, still details, tour prices and hours are not verified. The World's Best Bourbon claim is the distillery's own statement, so check the World Whiskies Awards results page before publishing. Set the slug by hand.