What Is A Rickhouse? in Bourbon Terms

Table Of Content

• COMPARE THE MAX & MIN TEMPERATURES FOR TWO MONTHS:
• How Many Barrels Are In A Rickhouse?
• How a Traditional Rickhouse Works
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• TEMPERATURES OVER TIME See how indoor temperatures vary by floor.
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Some of these include wood, brick, stone, concrete, tin, and metal. This leads to lower evaporation losses, or angel’s share, and a more consistent maturation process throughout the entire dunnage house. In the heart of Kentucky, where the rolling hills meet the Kentucky River, lies a timeless treasure that encapsulates the spirit of bourbon’s heritage.

COMPARE THE MAX & MIN TEMPERATURES FOR TWO MONTHS:

In the summer, windows on upper floors are often opened and you’ll feel a lot of air movement on a hot day. Since our buildings are not climate controlled, we use our tasting expertise to mingle barrels from different parts of the rickhouses to create consistent taste profiles. As the air outside moves from low to high, it shifts the atmospheric pressure inside, producing airflow that circulates throughout the barrels. Heat transfers throughout the rickhouse by the process of convection, in which air moves because some parts are heavier than others. In the summer, windows on upper floors are often opened and you'll feel a lot of air movement on a hot day.

How Many Barrels Are In A Rickhouse?

Some spirits like whiskey will spend years in the same rickhouse before they are ever bottled. Oftentimes, the distiller will use different kinds of wood in order to get specific flavors out of their final product. The Nelson Distillery Rickhouse Site, nestled in Jefferson County, Kentucky, is a testament to bourbon's rich heritage in Louisville. It stood as a sentinel, capturing the essence of bourbon whiskey aging from the late 19th century.

How a Traditional Rickhouse Works

By law, all bourbon must be aged in charred new oak barrels before it can be called straight bourbon— but after that, the regulations are fairly flexible about what happens to the barrel afterward. Let’s take a look at how rickhouses impact the bourbon distillery process. A rickhouse is a tall rectangular structure built of either wood or steel. It is designed to store and age distilled spirits, usually bourbon. They are usually located in close proximity to the distillation process so that the aging process can be closely monitored. Some of the oldest rickhouses date back to the late 1700s and were mainly used for storing and aging whiskey in Ireland.

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Constructed around 1895, this rare architectural gem was a surviving testament to what was once the heart of the Anderson-Nelson Distillery Company, Kentucky's colossal bourbon distilling empire. The nearby streets became the main service routes for the facilities, enveloped by the evolving landscape of industrial complexes and the charming Irish Hill residential area. The Anderson-Nelson Distilling conglomerate spanned 35 acres, boasting a capacity to house over 735,000 barrels of Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. Post-Prohibition, the distillery operated for another 46 years, adapting to evolving market demands and competition. But by 1979, this historical beacon of bourbon production, once the world's largest, had to close its doors. Today, as the bourbon industry enjoys a renaissance, there's a renewed appreciation for the architectural marvels tied to its past.

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The open-top nature of a rickhouse allows the warm air to escape, allowing fresh air at the bottom to rise up as its temperature increases. The constant slow circulation gradually removes moisture from the barrels making flavorful bourbon. The spirits with bold flavors and a particular in-mouth feel are usually placed at the mid high and high storage locations. These barrels can also be mixed together to give a more consistent taste.

In a traditional 9-floor rackhouse, there is the capacity to store 27 barrels if there are a total of 3 barrels on each floor. The barrels situated at the middle of the rackhouse are termed ‘center cut’. The spirit maturation rate stays constant in these barrels and experiences only the slightest fluctuations compared to those placed in extreme locations. The seventh to ninth floors of a traditional rackhouse are considered to be top-of-a-rackhouse barrel locations. Many distilleries take advantage of the fact that the whiskey matures differently depending on the type of warehouse used and the external conditions.

From three, five, to even seven storeys, and you’ll see that the aging process differs on each level. The temperature swings in dunnage houses are less extreme as compared to other types of aging facilities. The single storey structure, vs a multi-storey structure also helps maintain temperature stability. Scotch whisky distilleries often operate dunnage houses, which are traditional, low warehouses with an earthen floor and stone walls. An old-school rickhouse can hold and age 18,000 to 20,000 barrels, while modern rickhouses are capable of housing 55,000+ barrels. An average rickhouse can have 90 wooden racks, with a capacity that increases with the size of the rickhouse.

The dunnage barrel may also have become more influenced by the environment it was placed in. Suppose the dunnage barrel was placed near the ocean, in a high humidity environment, while the other was placed in a dry place. If you have an idea for a brand, business, or distilling process, you are in the right place. At Brindiamo Group, we like to think of ourselves as the one-stop-shop for businesses operating in the alcohol beverage space. Discover the people, places, and stories behind every step of our most adventurous whiskey production ever. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said the hearing featuring college presidents was the most watched congressional hearing in history.

Barrel proofWhiskey bottled at the desired proof while aging in the barrel. No water is added before bottling, so these Bourbons are higher proof than others. ProofMeasurement of beverage alcohol on a scale, in America, of 200. BBQ Bourbon Chicken Half ~ $24.00Slow roasted chicken half, covered with our house BBQ bourbon sauce.

I explained I was not sure, but specially constructed buildings known as rickhouses, rackhouses, or warehouses are in use to store and age bourbon. If the whiskey is aged for less than four years, its age must be stated on the bottle. Whether you’re building large production houses for master brewers or tasting rooms, aging houses for premium quality spirits or full capacity aging warehouses. We guarantee fine quality and timely construction for all structures. A rickhouse is a warehouse where whiskey barrels are stacked in multiple racks for uniform aging and thorough ventilation. Stacks are called ricks and a rickhouse is effectively a warehouse that holds multiple stacks of whiskey barrels.

Upon reveal, I was tied for closest guess with Nish who had guessed this was Russell’s Reserve 13. The barrels situated on the inside of the rackhouse have a different aging process compared to those placed on the outside of the rackhouse. This is because the barrels located on the outside are closer to the rackhouse walls and thus, receive more heat. The most common rackhouse type is the traditional elevator type. A traditional elevator rackhouse has 9 floors and can roughly hold around 20,000 barrels—approx.

They sit on seven different sites across Bourbon Country, and hold between 10,000 and 60,000 barrels each. So you can see in the diagram that there are 3 barrels on each floor – we call those the one high, two high, and the three high. Barrels on the inside of the house age differently than on the outside as well, since the barrels on the outside get more heat closer to the walls. So where you put the barrels effects those barrels in different ways. If you want to buy rickhouse bourbon or whiskey, you have to look beyond the “rickhouse brand” gimmick to seek actual quality.

On the other hand, since barrels placed on the bottom of a rackhouse experience a slower rate of evaporation, the water molecules entering the barrel make the spirit more dilute. The concentration of the flavors inside a barrel can be affected by the rate of evaporation. This is because the barrels placed on the top of the rackhouse experience an accelerated evaporation rate.

YeastA living organism that feeds on fermentable sugars, transforming them to beverage alcohol, congeners, carbon dioxide, and heat. Brussel Sprouts ~ $8.00Brussel sprouts sauteed with apples, bacon, cranberries, brown sugar and bourbon. Bourbon Mushrooms ~ $6.00Button mushrooms with bourbon, garlic and onions. Grilled Caesar Salad ~ $10.00Grilled romaine heart, topped with Parmesan cheese, bacon crumbles and homemade croutons. House Salad ~ $9.00Lettuce blend, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and onions, topped with cheese, bacon crumbles and homemade croutons.