Northern Kentucky’s New Riff Distilling is offering a new riff on American whiskey, with the release of its Bourbon that has been patiently aging for four years.
Distilled by an expert beer brewer-turned-distiller, New Riff Bourbon will be available in spirits retail stores, bars and restaurants beginning in Fall 2018 (SRP $39.99/750 ml).
Bottled in Bond at 100 proof (50% ABV) without chill filtration, New Riff Bourbon embraces the ultimate quality benchmark for the category. A genuinely high-rye, full-bodied whiskey with a savory, spicy character, its mash bill is 65% corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley, all non-GMO.
“Bottled in Bond is the highest quality standard for aged spirits in the world,” says Ken Lewis, founder, New Riff Distilling. “Rather than reserve it for special or limited releases, it is the signature of our Bourbon. Moreover, we are taking the standard one step further by eliminating chill filtration to ensure that not a single molecule of flavor is sacrificed. We are firmly grounded in Kentucky’s revered Bourbon tradition, but this is very much our own riff.”
“At New Riff Distilling, we uphold the hallowed Kentucky Regimen with open fermentation, sour mashing and distillation on grain,” says Jay Erisman, co-founder and v.p. of Strategic Development. “Our stills are all copper, from our 60-foot column still to our doubler, and the whiskey is aged exclusively in 53-gallon new oak barrels that are toasted and charred. New Riff Bourbon is truly a distillation of who we are as people.”
In light of all the regulatory requirements, many producers reserve Bottled in Bond for only select whiskeys in their portfolio. New Riff Distilling has chosen to make it its baseline. Moreover, it is adding its own quality guarantee, namely “Without Chill Filtration.” This ensures that nothing is removed from the Bourbon, not even through filtration, retaining all the aroma, flavor, texture and color.
To build their distillery, Lewis, who previously owned the nation’s largest spirits retail store, The Party Source, and Erisman, who was the store’s Fine Spirits Manager, reached out to Larry Ebersold, an unrivaled authority in American whiskey with four decades of experience at Seagram Lawrenceburg Plant in Indiana, at one time the largest distillery in the world.
As Consulting Master Distiller, Ebersold played a pivotal role in commissioning the new distillery, including specifying its equipment and ensuring that everything functioned seamlessly and safely.
Brian Sprance, formerly of the Boston Brewing Company, was subsequently hired as Head Distiller.
Ebersold trained the team in distillation techniques and shared his prized mash bills that became the starting points for New Riff Distilling’s own recipes. He remains a mentor and constant inspiration for the team.
When planning the distillery, Lewis and Erisman sought a better source of water than the local municipality. By luck or kismet, they discovered the distillery’s location is situated directly over the Ohio River Alluvial Aquifer, which has some of the best water in all of Kentucky.
Located 100 feet below ground, the aquifer’s water is naturally filtered, loaded with minerals and at an ideal constant temperature of 58 degrees, even in summer.
The water, which gushes forth at 500 gallons a minute, yields enormous energy savings by effectively cooling the mash and condenser coils without first requiring to be chilled. In addition, the water is used throughout the fermentation process.
New Riff Distilling
