On the one hand, its tough to be the new guy in town. Kentucky in general and Louisville in particular is a place with deep roots and a long history. On the other hand, without the baggage of decades of tradition, it gives you room to do things on your own terms…and Rabbit Hole is certainly forging its own way.
Walking away from a 24 year career in psychology to start a new whiskey brand, Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian is a risk taker. In many ways, this risk-taking and innovative approach to whiskey making has been key to Rabbit Hole’s success — with the obvious allusions to Lewis Carrol’s classic novel.
Zamanian’s penchant for doing things different is on full display at Rabbit Hole’s Distillery in Louisville. A chic, modern 55,000 square foot space in the Nulu neighborhood of downtown Louisville that would feel just as at home in New York or London, seems to announce to Louisville that a new generation of whiskey baron has arrived.
Designed by Doug Pierson, the angular glass and metal building brings the city in to 21st century. Because they started from the ground up, Rabbit Hole was able to invent a visitor experience seamlessly integrated into the overall design of the structure. Like the building itself, the visitor experience is open, accessible, and inviting.
Winding through the areas where Rabbit Hole does its milling, mashing, and filtering, edgy diagrams of the whiskey-making process adorn the walls. The path then leads up through the multistory, cooking, fermentation, and distillation area with floor to ceiling windows on three sides and the smell of a bakery throughout.
Most of the corn comes from Langley Farms in Kentucky, and they get their rye from a variety of sources, but always local if they can. At full capacity Rabbit Hole can produce 7200 bottles a day, double distilled in a pot still and four story, 48 ft. (19 plate), column still. The new make is proofed down to 42.5% ABV and aged in white oak barrels (from the Kelvin Cooperage), in Henry County, between Louisville and Cincinnati. Rabbit Hole is
One of the most striking things about Rabbit Hole is the transparency in their process. Near the entrance a small room houses Rabbit Hole’s testing room. Rather than keeping product tasting and testing within the realm of a few select, they crowdsource to the entire company. Rabbit Hole invites employees from all over the company to do tasting and testing of their product, they just need to sign up for a time slot on the schedule and they are now part of the tasting team. Its a fascinating approach to quality control.
At the top of the distillery is a tasting room officering panoramic views of downtown Louisville. In addition to offering the flights of their core collection at the end of the visitor experience: Cave Hill Bourbon, Heigold High Rye Bourbon, Dareringer Bourbon in PX Sherry Casks, and the Boxgrail Rye — mostly named for famous Kentucky people and sites; there is also a small bar with limited edition Rabbit Hole offerings, such as the Founders Collection, Derringer Single Barrel, the Robelo. All great pours, and a great place to spend the afternoon drinking find whiskey and watching the world go by from the terrace.
Despite being purchased by international spirits giant Pernod Ricard in 2019, Rabbit Hole continues to innovate and continues to produce quality whiskey. In an interview for American Whiskey Magazine in 2021, Zamanian said, “ I tell folks [to] drink less, drink better. It’s not about getting drunk, it’s about enjoying your experience.” A visit to Rabbit Hole distillery is absolutely about drinking better and enjoying the experience.
