O.K.I. 12 Year Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey

New Riff Distilling opened in the spring of 2014 in Newport, Kentucky, just on the other side of the river from Cincinnati. The distillery is owned by Ken Lewis, former owner of The Party Source, a very popular and huge northern Kentucky liquor store.

Like many new distilleries, to begin releasing product while their own young whiskey ages they have sourced from Midwest Grain Products (MGP) for their O.K.I. brand. The name O.K.I. signifies the whiskey history of greater Cincinnati that was once a hub of whiskey production. As the label states, O.K.I. is “distilled in Indiana, bottled in Kentucky, and enjoyed in Ohio.”

In 2018, the distillery finally deemed their own line of whiskeys of age and discontinued the O.K.I. brand.

O.K.I. bourbon balances the spicy wallop of a 35% rye grain bill, with the confection of twelve years of age. It enters gently, picking up the rye at mid-palate and jamming on from there. The finish is a swirling cloud of clove and peppery rye spice.