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, The 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.
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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 | |
Date Visited | July 2020 |
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