Even though Scotch is very much my tipple of choice, those who are familiar with the blogs here at Great Drams, will know that I do really enjoy a bourbon from time to time. One in particular, that I was very eager to try, was Dareringer, from Rabbit Hole.

Here at Great Drams, we love a good background story, and Rabbit Hole bourbon certainly has that. The good folks over in Kentucky know more about bourbon than I could ever wish to claim. They’re passionate about bourbon and Rabbit Hole may well be the most passionate of the lot.

Founded by Kaveh Zamanian and his wife, Heather, who herself was born and raised in Louisville, he decided to take the concept of bourbon, and flip it on its head. He wanted to create something different. Something new, that had never been done before. To do so, he needed to travel down the metaphorical rabbit hole. It was here, that the Rabbit Hole brand was born.

Here’s a review of Rabbit Hole Dareringer whiskey, and how it came to be.

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

Think of bourbon whiskey, and you of course think of the USA. To be more precise, you think of Kentucky. It turns out that they don’t just make remarkable fried chicken down there, they also make exceptional whiskey.

The main problem, if you can call it that, with the bourbon whiskey market, is that it is absolutely saturated. If you’re a bourbon drinker, you’re certainly spoiled for choice. The main issue is that a fair old percentage of the distilleries are simply purchasing existing bourbon, slapping their label on it, and selling it as is. Don’t get us wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, far from it, in fact, it just means that there isn’t as much innovation in the industry as we have over here perhaps, with our Scotch.

Kaveh, who himself was a huge fan of Scotch, was convinced by his wife, Heather, to transition away from Scotch and try his hand at bourbon. Kaveh however, wanted something different. He wanted to give bourbon drinkers a beverage that had never been done before. He wanted his bourbon to stand out from the competition. In order to do so, he needed to fall down the rabbit hole. This was not only where the inspiration for his brand’s name came about, but it was also during this period of research, that he looked into finished bourbons.

It’s All in the Finish

It wasn’t too long ago that the concept of a finished bourbon was almost alien to a lot of people. It was something extremely unique and something you generally wouldn’t find in the world of bourbon. In fact, some bourbon purists would almost consider it be tantamount to sacrilege.

The flavours you tend to get with bourbon are very different to Scotch. Whereas many fine Scotches can be made exception when finished in an ex-sherry or port cask for example, that doesn’t mean the same flavours and profiles would work just as well if the same technique was applied to bourbon.

Finishing any whiskey/whisky requires a huge amount of expertise and patience. You can’t just dump it into any old cask, forget about it for several years, and hope for the best. You need to understand how bourbon behaves, how it tastes, how it reacts to its environments, and how it can be elevated.

When Kaveh founded Rabbit Hole in 2012, after being introduced to bourbon by Heather, he knew he had to produce something very special to win over the Kentucky natives. The brand’s ethos is centred around love and support, and that’s really great to see.

Kaveh decided that finishing was the way to go, and in the case of Rabbit Hole Dareringer, Pedro Ximenez sherry casks were chosen. The results spoke for themselves.