One Northern Kentucky distillery has been turning heads since they got their start in 2014, and if your New Year’s resolution had anything to do with drinking less whiskey and bourbon, then you may want to steer clear.
Newport’s New Riff Distillery ups the ante with their commitment to traditional sour mash whiskey. In fact, their dedication to producing quality spirits was recognized by both Esquire magazine and alcohol and lifestyle website Boozist, all within the first two weeks of January.
Their Maltster series of malted rye and malted wheat bourbon were praised in an Esquire article entitled “The Hands Down Best Booze to Drink Right Now.”
“The malted grain seems to impart a bit more fruitiness to the rye,” says Jonah Flicker of Esquire, “while deepening the sweetness of the wheat.”
New Riff promises that there are no shortcuts in their small-batch whiskey process. “Perhaps our greatest, yet simplest process is that of patience: at least four years in a full-size 53-gallon barrel for any New Riff whiskey,” says their website. They are proud that they make it the “hard way” and bottle their whiskey under the highest quality standard in the world. This standard is the 1897 Bottled in Bond Act.
New Riff’s compelling experimentation was also highlighted on Boozist. They said that “experimentation is in New Riff’s DNA.” Their Winter Whiskey bottle was the focus of this glowing review. It is described as a mouthwatering “oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that remains distinctly bourbon rather than turning too sweet.” This article focused on five unique whiskeys they encouraged their readers to try.
The local business does more than produce quality whiskey in the Greater Cincinnati area. They have proven their dedication to the city by producing hundreds of gallons of hand sanitizer to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These bottles were donated to Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati police and fire departments and St. Elizabeth Hospital in Fort Thomas. The distiller diverted some of its alcohol manufacturing to create more than 400 gallons of sanitizer per week last spring.
If you’d like to try a taste of their bourbons for yourself, head to the distillery, located at 24 Distillery Way in Newport. Or your local spirits shop.
