Sweet caramel | Cherry | Toasted oak | Ripe pear | Granny Smith apples | Honey

Brown sugar | Honey | Vanilla | Mild oak | Slightly herbal | Tempered viscosity

Dry oak | Cinnamon | Faint root beer | Medium length with lingering heat

O.H. Ingram differentiates themselves for how they age their whiskey. The company ages their whiskey inside a floating rickhouse moored on the riverbank in Ballard County, Kentucky. The company claims that “by aging the whiskey on the water, they use the rise and fall of the Mighty Mississippi River and its unique climate to provoke an interaction between wood and spirit that can’t be replicated inside a traditional rickhouse.” You can read more in the press release.

Aging on water remains a contested practice, yet nevertheless a fascinating endeavor. With River Aged Straight Bourbon O.H. Ingram’s fourth ongoing release, the company remains steadfast in their convictions. Thanks to the whiskey's Indiana origins, there is some familiarity with it, and it’s therefore easier to taste how much river aging may have had an effect on the end result. At the same time, there’s a been-there-done-that taste to it despite its unique aging experience.

Yet, this wheated bourbon remains approachable, balancing its sweetness against an oak component and a good deal of cinnamon spice. The slight herbal note in the palate and the light root beer note on the finish are the whiskey’s most exciting traits. It features a light but noticeable viscosity that adds dimension to its delivery, but it's not necessary enough to greatly improve its base whiskey. Although this whiskey doesn’t reach the greatest heights, it has just enough going for it that it will please many wheated bourbon seekers. Given the choice of other Indiana sourced whiskey products, I’d have no qualms picking O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Bourbon over many others.