With a Master Distiller in Place, New Riff Gears Up for "Transformational" Year

When New Riff Distilling opened in Newport, Kentucky back in 2014, it did so without a master distiller, relying instead on a consulting team that included Larry Ebersold, otherwise known as “the godfather of rye whiskey,” and head distiller Brian Sprance. Now, as New Riff celebrates its 10th year in business, it’s also shaking things up a bit, starting with the announcement of Sprance as its first-ever master distiller.

Ebersold, who worked for 20 years as the master distiller at Seagram Lawrenceburg (today’s MGP) distilling high-rye bourbons, malted rye, and more, mentored Sprance in New Riff’s early years, as Sprance himself was coming off a 14-year career as a brewer, with stints at Boston Beer Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio, and BarrelHouse Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California. Sprance’s brewing experience landed him at New Riff: co-founder and CEO Ken Lewis didn’t necessarily want a seasoned master distiller, but instead sought out someone with a deep understanding of fermentation, and that brewing foundation has indeed proven invaluable to New Riff’s creative identity. “We have a theme at New Riff, of allowing ourselves to be inspired by beer,” says fellow New Riff co-founder Jay Erisman. “Brian’s background is a big part of that—it’s why we’ve made things like our Winter Whiskey, which is like a chocolate oatmeal stout bourbon, and why the single malt we released last year has two beer mashbills in it.”

Aside from the announcement of a new master distiller, New Riff is gearing up for a “transformational year,” according to Lewis, which includes a great deal of innovation, older releases, and expansion into additional states. While New Riff bills itself as a “small distillery,” it’s in fact one of the bigger independent distilleries in Kentucky, and has built upon its capacity considerably since it opened. It underwent a $2 million expansion in 2021, adding 800 square feet of space that allowed for three additional open-top fermenters; now, it can produce 12,000 barrels of whiskey each year, up from 8,000 barrels when it started. The following year, the distillery built a new warehouse in nearby Silver Grove, Kentucky that's capable of holding 40,000 barrels, with room for further expansion. In terms of new whiskey, Erisman notes that from the very beginning, it has put aside 20%-30% of every release for further aging, meaning that we may very well see some 10 year old bourbon, rye, and/or malt whiskey from New Riff this year, in addition to further exploration of heirloom grains and styles of whiskey.