New tour at award-winning Kentucky bourbon distillery is on a floating rickhouse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ingram Distillery will launch Barge to Bottle Chartered Experience in spring 2026.
- Visitors can book private river barge tours at $25 per person, up to ten.
- River-aged barrels on a Columbus, Kentucky barge drive wood and spirit interaction.
Kentucky bourbon tourists looking for a new adventure in the new year can head west: The Ingram Distillery is ready to welcome you aboard.
This Kentucky distillery founded in 2015 on the Mississippi River uses a unique aging process: Their barrels are aged in former grain barges on the river itself.
And beginning in spring 2026, visitors can go aboard the only floating barrelhouse in the country with their new Barge to Bottle Tour, as well as a private group tour for 10 called the Chartered Experience.
“When we purchased this pristine acreage overlooking our aging operations on the Mississippi, the goal was to always turn it into the hospitality arm of The Ingram Distillery,” said founder Hank Ingram, in a news release. “After making some needed restoration to the property, we are now ready for the public to experience the magic of river aging for themselves. Whether you’re a bourbon aficionado or simply interested in the beauty and history of Western Kentucky, our tours, just like our bourbon, are uniquely Ingram.”
You can book a special private behind-the-scenes tour at $25 a person. Or have the distillery grounds all to yourself and enjoy a tasting of curated whiskeys by booking for up to 10 people at a time; spots are limited. Go online at ingramwhiskey.com to line up a tour beginning in April.
According to the distillery, the barrels resting on the river barge anchored in Columbus, Ky., “are exposed to the microclimate and humidity of the river, along with its drastic rise and fall, to provoke a unique interaction between wood and spirit. These conditions are not available inside a traditional barrelhouse, and the result is a whiskey with a smooth taste mature beyond its years.”
They must be doing something right: Ingram’s Flagship was ranked among whiskey expert Fred Minnick’s Top 10 when it debuted in 2024. And O.H. Ingram River Aged Whiskey Uncharted Kentucky Wheated Bourbon Whiskey was named the best wheated bourbon in American in the 2025 International Wine & Sprit Competition in September with a score of 95.
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
