Jay Erisman

“The Man Behind New Riff’s New Riff”

In the early 2000s, Jay Erisman was working at a spirits store in Northern Kentucky. There, he built a premier fine‑spirits program, growing the store’s selection from around 65 whiskeys to more than 300, and educating customers about bourbons, wine, and more. Despite having no hands‑on distilling experience, his passion for tasting and talking whiskey made him a recognized voice in the bourbon world, including as a contributor to Whisky Advocate and Distiller.

Jay often reflects on being a home brewer in college, when his fascination with Scotch and bourbon began. That hobby, combined with his day job at the liquor store, set the stage for something bigger. When Ken Lewis, owner of the store where Jay worked, asked Jay to help launch a distillery in 2014, Erisman brought his creative mindset and deep curiosity to the table. Together, they founded New Riff Distilling, aiming to blend Kentucky tradition with bold innovation. Jay’s vision for New Riff was simple and profound: “a new riff on an old tradition.” This philosophy steered every decision, from production methods to brand identity.

Like classic Kentucky distilleries, New Riff uses the sour mash technique, where a portion of the stillage (or “backset”) from one batch is returned to the mash of the next batch. Jay and the team view this as a flavor anchor, a tradition that many believe makes better whiskey, though opinions differ as to exactly why. Crucially, Jay insisted from early on that all core whiskeys be bottled in bond (BIB)—meaning they are aged at least four years, bottled at 100  proof, and come from a single distilling season. It’s a mark of transparency and quality. On top of that, nothing is chill‑filtered—no additives, nothing removed. Jay sees this as almost a spiritual commitment to authenticity.

When Jay and Ken set out to build New Riff, neither had made spirits before. That was deliberate. They wanted to avoid simply mimicking industry norms with mentorship from consultants and the experience of head brewer‑turned‑distiller Brian Sprance, and the duo learned by doing. Brian came from BrewDog/Sam Adams and knew fermentation, which Jay believes is where whiskey flavor begins. Jay and Ken built a custom distillery: a 100% copper distillation system: beer still, doubler, reflux, condenser, each stage optimized for flavor. They also added fermenters over time: from four in 2014 to nine in 2022, giving capacity to produce about 12,000 barrels per year. By the time New Riff hit its 10th anniversary in 2024, it had a series of award‑winning bourbons, ryes, gins, and single malts. Jay and the team then began releasing older expressions like 8‑year rye and 8‑year bourbon. Then in 2025, New Riff Distilling earned 12 medals at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In the awards announced Thursday, May 8, New Riff earned medals for every entry — two Double Gold, one Gold, and nine Silver medals. Additionally, their Sherry Finish Malted Rye was named a “Best of Class” finalist.

Nowadays, Jay often strolls into the glass‑walled still tower and points out the lime‑green Jeep parked directly atop the aquifer well. Beneath the car, a whiskey life-source containing the same limestone‑rich water that has shaped every bottle of bourbon at New Riff bubbles up. For Jay, it’s fitting: a visible reminder of the firm foundation he and his team built, and continue to riff upon, every day.

Sources

  1. Breaking Bourbon Magazine, Distiller Interview: Jay Erisman, Virginia Miller, August 2020

  2. breakingbourbon.com, May 5, 2020

  3. Whiskey Advocate, “Combining High Standards…”, Ted Simmons, July 28, 2020

  4. Bourbon & Banter, “Erisman Eases New Riff…”, Steve Coomes, September 19, 2024

  5. whiskeymagazine.com, Distillery Focus: New Riff, Liza Weisstuch, November 7, 2024

  6. pourandsip.com, Talking All Things New Riff, January 28, 2021

  7. americanwhiskeymag.com, Interview: Jay Erisman, Bradley Weir, September 6, 2024

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee