Brown Water Spirits unveils whiskey matured on Mississippi

A Nashville-based start-up has released what it claims to be the first US whiskey to be aged in a floating rickhouse.

O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Whiskey was unveiled by Brown Water Spirits late last week. The 48% abv iteration has been matured in barrels for three years in a warehouse moored on the Mississippi in Kentucky.

According to Brown Water, which commenced operations in 2015, the whiskey is its first release and benefits from “a unique interaction between wood and spirit” based on the rise and fall of the river.

The brand is named after the great-great-great-grandfather of company founder Hank Ingram who ran a lumber company on the Mississippi in the 19th Century.

“The way whiskey has been made has changed little over the years, but this is something the industry hasn’t seen before,” said Jeff Hopmayer of the Brindiamo Group, which acts as an adviser to Brown Water. “The rickhouse sits right on the water, where the constant rocking of the river makes the distillate interact with the wood of the barrel than a traditional rickhouse … .

“In a way, they’ve hyper-charged the ageing process, and it’s remarkable the flavour they’ve achieved for a three-year-old whiskey.”

O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Whiskey launches this month in Tennessee with markets coming online as inventory increases. Brown Spirits has lined up a Straight Rye that will be rolled out next month.