Interview with Hank Ingram, CEO of Brown Water Spirits and O.H Ingram River Aged

About O.H. Ingram River Aged

Bourbon and rye whiskey producer O.H. Ingram River Aged has implemented a barrel storage system on a floating barge in the Mississippi River. Designed by Interlake Mecalux, the solution has doubled the company’s storage capacity and operational throughput.

Mecalux sits down with Hank Ingram, CEO of Brown Water Spirits and O.H Ingram River Aged, who explains how the company has boosted its storage capacity by 135% and doubled the number of barrels loaded per hour.

• What benefits will you obtain from the project?

  As our bourbon has grown in popularity, so too have our storage needs. The solution designed by Interlake Mecalux will help us sustainably grow our operations. We’re on our third version of the system and are now able to store just over 3,000 barrels per barge, up from 1,760 in version 1, by better utilizing space.

• How did Interlake Mecalux get involved in this storage project and what was the reason for requiring their products and services?

  Barrel racking serves a dual purpose: it enhances the storage capacity of a space and allows for greater airflow around the barrels, which in turn helps with the maturation process. Henry A. Petter Supply recommended Interlake Mecalux for this racking project because of their reliability and experience with other distillery installations.

  The solution designed by Interlake Mecalux will help us sustainably grow our operations

• What makes this a unique project?

  O.H. Ingram River Aged is the only whiskey in the world that spends its entire life on the Mississippi River — years of being exposed to the microclimate and humidity of the river, along with its constant motion, provoke a unique interaction between oak and spirit to drive complexity into our products. Creating a barrel racking system inside a floating structure creates additional challenges, but the results are well worth the effort. With the Interlake Mecalux solution, we have more storage to support our aging operation.

• Can you describe the typical aging process of a barrel in the barge?

  Using a system of ramps and hoists, we load each barrel by hand onto our barges. Once situated in the racking, barrels are left undisturbed for their entire life. The motion of the river, the consistent breeze, and the sun do all the work. After four years, we begin sampling each barrel to determine if it’s ready for bottling or if it’s something we want to age longer. Our oldest barrels are currently eight years old.

• How does the new system compare to the old setup?

  

  Prior to conversion, this barge was used to move grain along the Mississippi River. A Mississippi River barge is essentially an empty floating bucket. We filled in the space with a two-story racking system and created a floating barrelhouse (known as a rickhouse in the bourbon industry).

• Explain the design process. What were your end-result targets that directed what you wanted installed?

  Our first barge, version 1, was built in 2018. It was really a proof of concept that left plenty of room to move around in case of a mistake but left substantial underutilized space (1,760 barrel capacity). Our second barge was constructed in 2022. Interlake Mecalux was much more involved in the design of version 2, which was our first to feature a mezzanine. The mezzanine greatly increased our speed to load barrels and significantly improved safety. It was the same barge size as our first but with a 3,000-plus barrel capacity. Version 2 was so successful that we gutted our first barge and retrofitted it based on version 2 with minor improvements in access (version 3).

• Are you satisfied with the current design and are there plans for future barges?

  There’s no playbook for river-aged whiskey, so we’re writing it as we go. We’re always looking for improvements with each design iteration. We’re on version 3 with our latest barge, and we could not be more pleased with its performance.