Mike And Matt Taste O.H. Ingram River Aged Bourbon

O.H. Ingram River Aged Bourbon is aged on a barge moored on the Mississippi River. Their goal is to get the movement of the barge on the river to duplicate the movement of Bourbon being transported down the rivers on flatboats to New Orleans from distilleries in Kentucky in the 19^th century. They are not looking to gain flavors from the river in the way Jefferson’s is doing with their Jefferson’s Ocean whiskeys. Let’s face it, I don’t think I want whiskey flavored from the Mississippi River. They don’t call it the “big muddy” for nothing! What they hope to achieve is a constant movement of the whiskey in the barrel, which will draw more flavor from the barrel in a shorter amount of time. It is an interesting idea. They have sourced some good whiskey for this experimental process. That is a good start. They don’t own a distillery so they are hoping that the river aging will mature the whiskey they source more quickly, allowing them to have more bottles to sell sooner. It seems to be working and I do hope that they succeed with their business plan for many years to come. Matt and I tasted their Bourbon the other day and here are our notes.

O.H. Ingram River Aged Bourbon

Proof: 105

Age: No Age Statement

Nose:

• Mike: Vanilla with dried fruit – apricots, prunes and dates with a hint of baking spices and oak.
• Matt: Vanilla, orange cream with some earthy notes of grass, leather and oak wood.

Taste:

• Mike: Vanilla with apricots and dates, white pepper spice and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla becomes a French vanilla cream. Tasted with a pecan and the fruit becomes apricots with some vanilla zest.
• Matt: Vanilla with cherries and orange zest with a floral note of roses. The dried cranberry made the taste very herbal with notes of mowed grass and vanilla with baking spices. The pecan brought notes of cocoa and buttery flapjacks.

Finish:

• Mike: Long and dry with oak and white pepper spice. The dried cranberry enhanced the peppery finish. The pecan made the finish very long with oak and pepper with a hint of lemon zest.
• Matt: Disappointing and lackluster with charred oak and a hint of mint. The dried cranberry added some spice and citrus fruit notes to the oak. The pecan brought out oak, leather and cinnamon spice in the finish.

I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar with vanilla cedar spice in the smoke. I would reach for a Rocky Patel Decades to pair with this Bourbon.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller