Ken Lewis

The Party Source and New Riff founder reflects on building his businesses and retiring well.
interview by Bryn Mooth and portrait by Michael Wilson

What surprised you about the distilling business?
I thought I had business acumen and entrepreneurial chops and knew the spirits industry. I’m not a distiller, but I’m good at hiring a great team. A friend told me about Larry Ebersold, who’d recently retired as the master distiller at Seagram’s in Lawrenceburg, IN. He was interested in consulting with us. He brought expertise in designing the distillery and trained our distilling team.

Why did Newport seem like the right place for a distillery?
As the liquor buyer at The Party Source I had a prime window seat to the bourbon boom. There wasn’t a single distillery in Greater Cincinnati at the time; I thought, if distilleries are popular in Lexington and Louisville, why wouldn’t it be successful here?

The Ohio River Alluvial Aquifer that sits beneath the property—did you know about that beforehand?
It was a serendipitous discovery. Out of the blue at a meeting, one of the engineers said, “By the way, are you going to tap into the aquifer?” We didn’t know it was down there. We think it’s an important part of the quality of our whiskey. It’s a remarkably simple recipe, and when you change it by using a natural water source it makes your product better.

How has the distilling industry changed in 10 years?
Today, the consumer is more knowledgeable and demanding and open to trying new things.

What prompted you to explore using locally grown heirloom grains?
Jay Erisman, my cofounder, is interested in agronomy and has a passion for this. We’ll continue to resurrect grains from the 1930s and ’40s. We believe strongly that unadulterated, older, lower-yielding grains from the past are more flavorful and make a great whiskey.

How would you describe your business philosophy?
A couple of themes flow through the life of New Riff: that we’ll always focus on quality and use profit as the means to an end, and that capitalism has become synonymous with greed but it should be a force for good, a way to create good incomes for a range of people and not just the people at the top. We want to take care of the employees and be conscious of the community we live in and the environment so that we all win.

What’s occupying your time these days?
I’m retired, but I’m around to give advice, and doing PR efforts and participating in community activities, and I’m involved in the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. It’s a generational change, and now we’re a female-operated company. I need to step away so they can create their own greatness. One should put as much effort into exiting the business as one puts into creating it.

It’s 5:00 on a Friday; what’s in your glass?
I think it’d be a Manhattan with New Riff rye.

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VITAL STATS

Hometown Louisville
Lives in Downtown Cincinnati
Family wife Sarah, six adult children, five grandkids
Career path Earned a BA in English from Univ. of Michigan and master’s with a teaching certificate from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Taught in Detroit for 2 years. Returned to his family’s liquor business in Louisville. Grew the business to six stores; opened The Party Source in Newport, KY. Lobbied for Sunday liquor sales in Kentucky and for the use of credit cards to purchase alcohol. Founded New Riff Distilling in 2014; sold The Party Source to its employees. Retired from New Riff in spring 2024. Recently named by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association to its Kentucky Hall of Fame.