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                      New Riff Distilling

                      New Riff Distilling - Distillery
                      The New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      New Riff Distilling Distillery Side View
                      New Riff Distilling Distillery Side View
                      New Riff Distilling Gift Shop Tasting Bar
                      Gift Shop Tasting Bar
                      Gift Shop - New Riff Distilling
                      Gift Shop
                      Grover, our tour guide, in front of the column still - New Riff Distilling
                      Grover, our tour guide, in front of the column still
                      60 foot column still - New Riff Distilling
                      60 foot column still
                      Column Still - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Column Still
                      Grain Silos - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Grain Silos
                      Barrel Filling Station - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barrel Filling Station
                      Barreling Area - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barreling Area
                      Cooker (Mash Tun) - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Cooker (Mash Tun)
                      Fermenters - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Fermenters
                      Tasting - New Riff Distilling
                      Tasting
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar. Tastings, flights, pours and cocktails available.
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar Patio - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar Patio
                      New Riff Distilling - Distillery
                      New Riff Distilling Distillery Side View
                      New Riff Distilling Gift Shop Tasting Bar
                      Gift Shop - New Riff Distilling
                      Grover, our tour guide, in front of the column still - New Riff Distilling
                      60 foot column still - New Riff Distilling
                      Column Still - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Grain Silos - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barrel Filling Station - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barreling Area - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Cooker (Mash Tun) - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Fermenters - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Tasting - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar Patio - New Riff Distilling
                      New Riff Distilling - Distillery
                      The New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      New Riff Distilling Distillery Side View
                      New Riff Distilling Distillery Side View
                      New Riff Distilling Gift Shop Tasting Bar
                      Gift Shop Tasting Bar
                      Gift Shop - New Riff Distilling
                      Gift Shop
                      Grover, our tour guide, in front of the column still - New Riff Distilling
                      Grover, our tour guide, in front of the column still
                      60 foot column still - New Riff Distilling
                      60 foot column still
                      Column Still - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Column Still
                      Grain Silos - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Grain Silos
                      Barrel Filling Station - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barrel Filling Station
                      Barreling Area - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Barreling Area
                      Cooker (Mash Tun) - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Cooker (Mash Tun)
                      Fermenters - New Riff Distilling Distillery
                      Fermenters
                      Tasting - New Riff Distilling
                      Tasting
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar. Tastings, flights, pours and cocktails available.
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar Patio - New Riff Distilling
                      Aquifer Tasting Bar Patio
                      24 Distillery Way
                      Newport KY 41073
                      859-261-RIFF (7433)


                      A stone’s throw from the imposing Ohio River lies the home of New Riff Distilling.  Located in Newport on the KY side of the river, the modern industrial style building has an entrancing glass facade which beautifully displays the workhorse of the distillery, its 60 foot Vendome copper column still.  The distillery opened in 2014 and is a mid-sized craft distillery which in part loosely refers to the number of gallons produced per year.  New Riff produces around 8,000 barrels a year or roughly 424,000 gallons.  This urban distillery shares the exceptionally large parking lot with its well known neighbor, External link opens in new tab or windowThe Party Source, a liquor superstore.  In fact, New Riff co-founder Ken Lewis sold that business to begin this new adventure in distilling.

                       

                      Due to Covid-19 rules and restrictions, the only tour currently (as of September 2020) offered at New Riff is the Bonded Tour.  This $10 tour covers distillation from grain to glass and finishes with a tasting.  Reservations are available online and highly encouraged since there are only 6 guests allowed per tour.  Currently the Bonded Tour is available on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at noon, 2pm and 4pm.  A mask is required for entry and is provided if needed.  After a brief stop inside the gift shop to check in, we met our tour guide and brand ambassador, Grover, outside under the awning of the distillery entrance. The tour began here with Grover first covering pandemic do’s and don’t’s. With housekeeping duties complete, the tour was underway.




                      The tour at New Riff is a bit unique. Most distilleries follow a grain to glass order,  However, at New Riff, the tour began outside in front of its towering copper column still.   Grover first explained the distillation process making special note of New Riff’s water source.  No Newport or Ohio River water here.  New Riff has the very good fortune to be sitting on top of the ideal aquifer for making bourbon.  This gold standard water checks all the boxes, a neutral pH of 7, it’s loaded with yeast loving minerals, and it maintains a year round temperature of 58 degrees.   We continued around the outside of the building with stops at the 2 enormous stillage tanks and the equally gigantic grain silos.  Grover briefly explained the purpose of the each followed by a quick discussion of their grain sources and milling process.  The tour then headed inside to barreling.

                      As required, New Riff uses new charred oak barrels to age their bourbon and rye, and in addition, they add a toast to each barrel.  This extra step differs from charring in that the barrels are heated, but not ignited as in charring. They are then held at a high temperature for a prolonged time, much like toasting bread. This is a unique twist, as it is not a common practice among distilleries. Toasting brings more sugars into play during the aging process and helps the distillery achieve its particular flavor profile.  While barrels are filled on site, due to the lack of space at the distillery, they are stored at the New Riff west campus located about 2 miles away.  Unfortunately, there’s no rickhouse visit on this tour. The Barrel Proof Tour, which prior to COVID was offered every Wednesday at 6pm, did visit that area.  From the barreling area, the tour headed up to the second floor for an up close and personal view of the mash cooker, fermentation tanks, and the still.  This was the final stop on the tour before the tasting.  Here Grover covered both the cooking process and the fermentation process a bit more in depth and afterwords, we were able to step directly into the still area and get a great view from bottom to top.  This wrapped up the distillery tour portion of our visit and then it was off to the tasting. 

                      Tastings at New Riff take place in their Aquifer Bar located on the top floor the the distillery.  Due to social distancing, the tasting was not as intimate as tastings tend to be.  Grover, however did a good job of guiding us.  There were 5 tastes included with the tour:  New Riff Small Batch Bourbon and Rye, New Riff Barrel Proof bourbon, and New Riff Wild Gin and Bourbon Barreled Gin.  Once the tasting was completed, we took advantage of our surroundings and enjoyed some of Aquifer’s tasty handcrafted cocktails.  The ambiance in the Aquifer Bar is terrific because the expansive glass windows on both sides of the bar offer wonderful scenic views of the Ohio River as well as the downtown Cincinnati and Newport areas.   There is also an equally impressive outdoor patio with ample seating for more viewing opportunities.

                      We ended our visit back where we first began, the New Riff gift shop.  There are plenty of items to shop.  From hats and shirts, to mixers and barware, and of course plenty of New Riff bourbon, rye, and gin, all available for purchase.  New Riff Distilling is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour as well as the B-Line of northern Kentucky.  Whether you’re considering a tour or just stopping in for a cocktail, check out this city distillery’s "New Riff" on an old tradition.


                       

                       Please note that due to COVID Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.



                      Days of operation

                      Wed-Sat 11:00am-7pm 

                      Sunday 11am-5pm       

                      Closed Mon-Tues        

                      Tours only Wed/Sat/Sun

                      Paved Drive / Lot

                      Very large but busy paved lot

                      Motorcycle Parking

                      No separate parking, just the paved lot

                      Motorcycle unfriendly features

                      No

                      Number of tours per day

                      Bonded Tour Only during COVID

                      Wed & Sat: 12, 2, 4pm 

                      Sun: 12pm, 2pm

                      Length of Tour(s)

                      45 minutes to an hour

                      Advanced topic tours?

                      Yes, but currently unavailable due to Covid-19

                      Advanced topic tour names

                      Barrel Proof Tour

                      Distiller’s Tour

                      Tours by owners /distillers available?

                      Yes

                      Number of different types of tours

                      3

                      (During Covid-19 only 1 tour currently offered)

                      On-Line Tour Reservations Available

                      Yes

                      Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required

                      Yes as very limited offerings and only 6 people allowed per tour

                      Cost for tour(s) in $

                      Bonded Tour $10

                      Ticket price may be applied to gift shop purchase of $25 or more

                      Tasting Included?

                      Yes

                      Number of samples included in tasting

                      5

                      Tasting Only Option?

                      Yes

                      Tasting Only Option Cost

                      Prices vary depending on selections available

                      High-end tasting option?

                      No

                      High-end tasting option cost?

                      N/A

                      Designated Driver Option

                      No

                      Handicapped Accessible?

                      Yes

                      Souvenirs included with tour?No

                      Gift shop

                      Yes

                      On-Site bottle sales?

                      Yes

                      On-site food: Restaurant/Cafe/Snacks

                      No

                      On-site Cocktail bar

                      Yes

                      The Aquifer Bar

                      On-site event space

                      Yes

                      Should I visit? (Yes, Perhaps, No)

                      Yes

                      Unique Features

                      Urban Distillery

                      Website

                      External link opens in new tab or windowhttps://newriffdistilling.com

                      Date Visited

                      July 2020

                       

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