Ingram Distillery Announces Floating Barrelhouse Built From Salvaged SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Celebrating 50 Years Since the Fateful Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The Ingram Distillery has long been known for aging its whiskey on the gentle sway of the Mississippi. But now the company is making waves—literally—with what insiders are calling the boldest project yet in modern whiskey maturation.

According to recently uncovered filings with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ingram Barge Company has quietly recovered portions of the legendary Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank during a November 1975 storm on Lake Superior. Sources close to the company confirm that these salvaged sections are being restored to serve as the world’s first Great Lakes floating barrelhouse and memorial distillery experience—The SS Edmund Fitzgerald Barrelhouse.  Among insiders, it’s already being referred to simply as Barrelhouse #10.

Company founder Hank Ingram, whose family operates one of the nation’s largest barge fleets, reportedly green-lit the recovery effort after discovering that the ship’s late captain, Ernest M. McSorley, was a distant relative.

“I grew up hearing stories about the Fitzgerald,” Ingram said in a statement, “but I never knew we shared blood—or a taste for rye.”

In a fortuitous twist, divers assisting with the salvage claim to have found a water-damaged logbook from Captain McSorley describing his favorite nightcap, The Old 48—a cocktail made with two parts bourbon, two parts rye, Galliano, lemon juice, and wild Great Lakes grapes. The recipe will be revived as the signature pour at Lightfoot Restaurant & Lounge, a floating supper club aboard the reconstructed vessel. The name pays tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, whose 1976 ballad immortalized the tragedy.

Once completed, The SS Edmund Fitzgerald Barrelhouse will host guided tastings, overnight berths, and what Ingram calls a “nautical proofing program,” where barrels experience the constant temperature swings of Lake Superior’s famously unforgiving climate.

“If you thought our river-aged whiskey was dynamic,” Ingram quipped, “wait until you try something aged next to Canada.”

Whiskey aged aboard the ship will be bottled as Fitzgerald’s Reserve. Each bottle features brass accents forged from salvaged hull plating—a quiet nod to the vessel’s enduring legacy—and the ship’s final coordinates etched into the glass, honoring the spot where the legend came to rest in 1975. Early collector editions will even include a small vial of authentic Lake Superior water—tested, filtered, and, according to Ingram, “guaranteed not to sink your palate.”

When asked about the risks of aging whiskey on a ship best known for disaster, Ingram simply smiled.

“We’re not superstitious,” he said. “We’re just very serious about flavor—and a good story.”

Construction of The SS Edmund Fitzgerald Barrelhouse is slated for completion in early 2027, pending Coast Guard approval and, as Ingram put it, “a little cooperation from the weather.”

Note: This was another example of the fine work of the Bourbon & Banter SNIFF Team (Sloshed Nomads Investigating Fermented Facts). Therefore, everything above is completely true, except for the parts that aren’t. Any resemblance to real permits, recovered freighters, or viable business plans is purely coincidental—and highly entertaining.