New Riff

Choosing just one whisky to celebrate is never easy, but we’re delighted to announce our Whisky of the Year for 2025 from an incredible shortlist of six, crowned by our panel of industry experts and the attendees at our judging event in London.

This year’s shortlist included whiskies from Scotland’s Highlands, Islay and Campbeltown, a fruity red wine cask-finished Irish whiskey and a spicy high-rye bourbon. After much deliberation the votes were cast and the winner was clear: the Whisky of the Year is New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottled In Bond.

New Riff is has a simple mission: to one day be counted among the world’s great small distilleries. It was founded near the Ohio border in 2014 by local Kentucky spirits retailer and entrepreneur Ken Lewis, who assembled a team with backgrounds in craft beer, politics and beyond. Since then, they’ve crafted a growing range of whiskies in a variety of styles, from bourbon and rye to malted rye and a host of specialty recipes, as well as Kentucky Wild Gin.

The brand still upholds the Sour Mash Kentucky Regimen – a time-honoured fermentation method that creates bold, characterful whiskey – but is also known for improvising and experimenting with new styles of Kentucky whiskey. Put simply, while New Riff draws inspiration from the great bourbon makers of history and respects those that came before it, this is a distillery that dances to its own tune.