A Newport distillery is giving back to the community and celebrating Earth Day with the dedication of a new park and the release of some new spirits.
On Monday, New Riff Distilling joined the Silver Grove Community Foundation to dedicate the new park at Green Valley Pond in Silver Grove. The distillery says funds raised through sales of its Silver Grove commemorative edition whiskey were donated to the foundation to help establish the park.
“When we built our new barrel warehouse in Silver Grove in 2022, we knew we wanted to support that community through our philanthropic efforts like we do Newport,” New Riff president Mollie Lewis said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to see people loved the 2023 Silver Grove release so much that we’re able to donate $16,830 to the foundation — and we are excited to see what more we can accomplish together with our 2024 releases.”
With the money, Silver Grove Community Foundation was able to complete the initial phase of improvements around Green Valley Pond, including installing benches made from recycled plastic, trash bins and a message board. Future project phases include creating a recreational trail around the pond that will also connect to the current sidewalks.
New Riff says its Silver Grove whiskey is a nod to a past whiskey released under the Silver Grove name in the ‘30s. The original Silver Grove was a 1933 bottling distilled in 1917 at the Edward Brinkmann Distillery in Cincinnati’s Carthage neighborhood, says New Riff co-founder Jay Erisman. New Riff’s first barrel-proof blend, the Silver Grove releases are a “nod to both the area’s distilling past and to New Riff’s future,” he added.
A 2024 bottling of the Silver Grove Bourbon will be available in New Riff’s gift shop beginning Tuesday, April 23. New Riff’s assistant head distiller, Bryon Martin, describes the bourbon as “having notes of dark red fruits and rye spices on the nose and a deep, full mouthfeel that flows briefly into dark brown sugars then wood spices and tannins,” with a 65% corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley mashbill bottled at 116.2 proof.
In addition to a 2024 bottling of Silver Grove Bourbon, New Riff also announced the debut of its Silver Grove Rye. Martin says it has “huge mint, black pepper and hints of citrus, caraway and oak on the nose,” along with an upfront cinnamon spiciness; hints of vanilla and singed toffee; and a bold, rye-spice finish with a minerality and eucalyptus notes. It has a 95% rye and 5% malted rye mashbill bottled at 116.4 proof.
Both the 2024 Silver Grove Bourbon and Silver Grove Rye will be available in New Riff’s gift shop for $55.99 beginning April 23. A portion of the proceeds from each will continue to benefit the Silver Grove Community Foundation.
Green Valley Pond is located at 5246 4 Mile Road in Silver Grove. You can visit New Riff Distilling at 24 Distillery Way, Newport, or learn more here.
