What “Respectfully Different” Actually Looks Like In Bourbon Country

LeadershipCMO NetworkWhat “Respectfully Different” Actually Looks Like In Bourbon CountryByDave Knox,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dave Knox is a writer focused on startups, tech, innovation, and CPG.Follow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 10:00am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Mollie Lewis, president of New Riff Distilling, leads the Newport, Kentucky craft distillery her father Ken Lewis founded on a simple principle: take the harder, more honest road. Twelve years later, that philosophy has produced a World’s Best Bourbon.New Riff DistillingWhen New Riff Distilling entered the World’s Best Bourbon competition, they submitted the $40 bottle sitting on everyday shelves, not the rare limited release that most distilleries would reserve for a moment like that. That decision is the clearest expression of how New Riff operates: built in Newport, Kentucky when the bourbon trail ran through Louisville and Bardstown, printing its mash bill on the label before that was fashionable, and staying 100% family-owned in a category that private equity has been consolidating for a decade. The distillery calls this being respectfully different, and they have been living it since day one. I sat down with Mollie Lewis, president of New Riff Distilling, to walk through the decisions behind it.Dave Knox: Your recent news is remarkable. New Riff Bottled in Bond was named World’s Best Whisky. Tell me about that moment and what it has meant for the business.Mollie Lewis: We are still pinching ourselves at the distillery, Dave. This has been such an exciting whirlwind. We did not know we were going to receive this award. They kept it very close to the vest. They invited us down, and we only found out in real time with everyone else in the audience. What an amazing feeling, for Brian Sprance, our master distiller, to walk up on stage in front of all of the...