Ken Lewis had a vision. He wanted to put a ‘new riff’ on an old tradition. His mission was to “someday be counted among the world’s great small distilleries. Becoming one of the great small distilleries of the world.” To that end, Lewis opened the doors to New Riff Distilling in Newport, Kentucky and has been working toward that goal since 2014.
After half a century in the spirits industry and as Founder, Co-owner and Chief Executive Officer of New Riff Distilling, Lewis announced his succession plan with a retirement in the Spring 2024.
And now, Lewis can celebrate one of his crowning achievements with his induction into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of fame as the latest recipient of the prestigious Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Watch the video to hear all about how Lewis got to where he is today and hear it from him in his own words.
- Introduction by Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory
- A few words from one of Ken’s lifelong friends Fred Joseph, retired Partner, Stites and Harbison, PLLC.
- Hear what it means to Ken to be inducted into the KBHOF.
- Raise a glass as Stacey Phelps President of Bardstown/Nelson County Tourism Commission closes out the 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame celebration with a toast.
The 2024 Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award Goes to Ken Lewis – Founder New Riff Distilling
Ken Lewis, 71, Cincinnati. A spirits expert and groundbreaking policy leader, Lewis graduated college as a trained English teacher, but left shortly into his young career for the world of spirits retail. He championed efforts for Sunday sales and initiated litigation that allowed retailers to use credit cards for sales, eventually building The Party Source megastore, the first of its kind in the country. Learning the industry from the bottom up, Lewis brought innovation and entrepreneurship as the founder of New Riff Distilling in Northern Kentucky, paving the way for the craft Bourbon boom that now counts dozens of Kentucky distilleries.
“All that you send into the lives of others, will come back into your own.” ~ Ken Lewis Founder New Riff Distilling
“All that you send into the lives of others, will come back into your own.”
~ Ken Lewis Founder New Riff Distilling
Ken Lewis is the (retired) CEO, Operating Owner and Founder of New Riff Distilling – founded in 2014. A fearless entrepreneur, he launched New Riff in Newport, Ky., with a goal of creating one of the worlds great small distilleries with a focus on a new benchmark of bottled-in-bond without chill filtration. Committed to whiskey, quality and craft, New Riff Distilling has the freedom to innovate and collaborate, riff on the old and redefine the new.
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Prior to New Riff, Lewis founded and owned The Party Source, the largest spirits retail store in Kentucky and the U.S. He was widely recognized as one of the country’s top retailers inducted into the Market Watch “Retailers of the Year”, a Beverage Media “ The Retailer of the Year” and selected by his peers as a Wine and Spirits Guild President.
Despite, or maybe because of, the store’s success, Lewis wanted a greater challenge. He had witnessed the bourbon revival first-hand — a sleepy category transformed to a pop culture icon and economic juggernaut. Doing business in Northern Kentucky which, at the time, had no distilleries and with Cincinnati just across the river, Lewis saw an opportunity. He wanted to create high-quality spirits, bring bourbon tourism to his part of the state, and lay the foundation for a family legacy.
Lewis got his start in the spirits business by accident. While working as a high school English teacher in Louisville, his hometown, Lewis’ father tried to help a relative by setting him up with a local liquor store. The arrangement proved unsuccessful and his father offered Lewis the chance to turn around the business for a year and then return to teaching. It was an offer Lewis couldn’t refuse. At 24, he found himself operating a liquor store with no industry or business experience. He learned the industry from the bottom up and, more importantly, how to deal with and motivate people.
Lewis saw what others did not: beverage alcohol retailing was ripe for innovation. Despite most purchases being made and decided by women, existing stores marketed to men. And, liquor stores were still positioned as a “sin” business.
While creating what would become The Party Source, Lewis created a store that looked like a bright and welcoming supermarket. He focused marketing around gatherings and parties for friends and family, and devoted half the floor space to non-alcoholic products and fun, festive offerings like party gear and gourmet foods. Combined with unbeatable prices, the approach was wildly successful and The Party Source eventually expanded to six stores.
His retail experience also led to disrupting Kentucky’s antiquated liquor laws, including successfully lobbying for Sunday sales. A court case Lewis initiated allowed credit cards to be used to purchase alcohol and he pioneered the sale of fine wine in the state. Lewis’ innovations have reverberated well beyond the Bluegrass State and set the tone for modern spirits retailing. But to become a spirits producer, Lewis had to divest completely from retailing due to the three tier system governing beverage alcohol. In doing so, he wanted to share his success with the employees who had helped him succeed so he sold The Party Source in a forward-thinking employee stock ownership plan. Then, he built New Riff Distillery next door, on property he already owned and conveniently atop an underground aquifer that serves as the distillery’s water source. As it approaches its 10 year anniversary New Riff continues to strive with considerable success to become one of the great small distilleries of the world.
Born and raised in Louisville, Lewis earned his Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Harvard University, following graduating the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts with top honors in English. Lewis now calls Cincinnati home, where he enjoys reading and is a bit of a “gym rat”. An avid traveler, former trekker and mountain climber, he summited Denali in Alaska. Today the summits he continues to successfully climb additionally involve mentoring the next generation of the spirits industry leaders and working assiduously with the KDA on political activity on behalf of the spirits industry and enriching the reputation of Kentucky bourbon in the U.S. and around the world.
Related Stories
– New Riff Distilling Founder is Hanging Up His Whiskey Thief – Announces Succession Plan, Keeps it in the Family – Jun 2023
– Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam Passes Away After Courageous Battle with ALS – Jan 2017
– The Legacy of Earl Parker Beam, A Distiller’s, Master Distiller [Video] – Jan 2017
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