Ingram Distillery is a company that ages whiskey barrels on a barge in the Ohio River. The reason for doing this is that the rocking motion of the barge creates motion of the whiskey in the barrel, increasing the contact with the wood. It was said that the barrels of whiskey moving down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on flatboats in the 19th century aged the whiskey on the rivers so that by the time they got to New Orleans, the whiskey was much improved in flavor. I am sure that it helps, but it is not a substitute for time in the barrel. However, since Ingram Distillery is doing a fully aged whiskey on the river, it is bound to improve the flavor after four years on the river. This is a seven year old whiskey. They sent me a sample bottle of this Bourbon and Matt and I sat down to taste it. Here are our tasting notes.
Ingram Flagship Bourbon Batch 6
Proof: 113.8
Age: Seven Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, apples, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, dates, cedar and oak woods.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel. apples, pears, allspice and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry enhances the apple and makes the spice cinnamon. Tasted with a pecan and notes of chocolate and green apple join the party.
- Matt: Caramel, dates, cherries, red pepper and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the apple. The pecan added orange zest to the flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood and allspice. The dried cranberry made the finish longer with oak wood and cinnamon. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood, tart green apple and cinnamon.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood. The dried cranberry added red apple to the finish. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, red apple and orange zest.
I would pair this Bourbon with a My Father La Opulencia cigar. I find that this cigar has some nice dried fruit notes in the smoke that would pair well with the fruit in the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller