Written by Claire Williams / Photos courtesy of Rabbit Hole

Bourbon, at its base, is a story of creativity and innovation. Traveling monks who immigrated to Ireland and Scotland used fermented grain mash and cereals to make aqua vitae (early concoctions of whiskey, which in Latin means "water of life") due to the absence of vineyards and grapes. European settlers who traveled to North America used distillation techniques to create new whiskey styles with local grain mash and corn. Even during prohibition, medicinal whiskey could be prescribed by a doctor for pick up at a local pharmacy, enabling distilleries to skirt strict prohibition laws. In the centuries succeeding those early renditions of whiskey and bourbon, some argued that America's native spirit had lost some of that original imagination and ingenuity.

Kaveh Zamanian was among those who believed the whiskey category had "fallen asleep." Two decades ago, when Zamanian met his wife Heather, a Louisville native, he said he had the chance to fall in love twice: with Heather and with whiskey. Launching Rabbit Hole in 2012 represents Zamanian’s love letter to the latter.  Working in bars in his 20s, Zamanian pined for a career in the spirits industry, and opening Rabbit Hole was the realization of a deferred dream that simmered on the back burner as he pursued another path as a successful clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. 

Zamanian remarked that once he caught the "bourbon bug," he envisioned what the spirit could be, saying it’s "51% corn and 49% possibilities." While he always envisioned Rabbit Hole as the next great United States whisky brand, even today, Zamanian has "pinch me" moments when he reflects on how what he thought would end up as a small craft distillery has become an international phenomenon. “It’s not a cliché for me to say that I go down ‘rabbit holes’ to challenge what bourbon is and what it can be,” he says when discussing one of his most personal projects, the limited-release Founder’s Collection.

Rabbit Hole focuses on capturing new emerging whiskey consumers, essentially the antithesis of the stereotypical Mad Men-esque tippler or those who only see whiskey as suited for cocktails. As such, Zamanian knows that learning from both sides of the bottle is crucial. He believes it's the industry's job to educate consumers while listening to their needs and wants. Teaching moments frequently occur at their distillery, where they conduct tastings of whiskey flights that may encompass expressions aged in cognac barrels to double chocolate bourbon, creating a natural learning flow on both sides. Occasionally, distillery visitors "test" new expressions, with their feedback contributing to the finished product.  

Zamanian says, "Shoot me if I only have one idea," explaining his belief that it's his job to inspire his team to think like chefs as much as distillers while tasting and testing ingredients to see how they can keep pushing the boundaries of bourbon and whiskey. He wants Rabbit Hole to be an innovative hub for American whisky and a leader in the whisky renaissance. At the same time, Rabbit Hole pays homage to those creators and innovators who pioneered American whiskey while constantly evolving and creating new styles. '

Cavehill, one of Rabbit Hole's original bourbons and the recipient of multiple prestigious accolades, is named to honor generations of Louisville distillers and those daring enough to experiment and take risks to forge the path for modern whiskey. Before Zamanian was wooed by whisky, he loved the earthiness and smoke of a single malt scotch; those same flavors echo in his Cavehill Bourbon. In the early days of distilling, pioneers fermented yeast, water, and corn, and Cavehill bourbon pays homage to this process with a grain mash of seventy percent corn, ten percent malted wheat, ten percent honey malted barley, and ten percent malted barley to create a four-grain, triple malt whiskey those previous generations would undoubtedly approve of. 

Each blend at Rabbit Hole evidences its commitment to innovation and celebrating tradition. For instance, Dareringer (inspired by Zamanian's wife) is a straight bourbon whisky finished in PX Sherry casks, marrying Spain and Kentucky in a fruity finish with a hint of vanilla. Boxergrail, an homage to Louisville's august boxing legacy, is a robust rye whisky with a ninety-five percent rye mash, offering a balanced blend of sweetness and spice.

Serving as a physical manifestation of their forward-thinking, in 2018, Rabbit Hole opened a distillery in Louisville, Kentucky's NULU neighborhood, a buzzy area known for its arts, culture, and culinary scene. In contrast to the brick and iron-framed windows of historic buildings on nearby Distillery Row, Rabbit Hole's architecture presents a modern take on a distillery as a luminous landmark with a large glass facade, courtyard, and an open-air terrace that showcases the entire process of crafting bourbon from grain to bottle. Just as Zamanian is proud to be a part of the whisky revival in Louisville, he is equally keen on being a cornerstone of the neighborhood, which has seen more than $400 million in investments since the distillery opened.  

The Rabbit Hole distillery welcomes some 50,000 visitors annually, and Zamanian believes we're just at the beginning of what whiskey can be. It's a sentiment reflected by wine and spirits juggernaut Pernod Ricard, who acquired a majority stake in Rabbit Hole in 2019, just seven years after Zamanian founded the company. During meetings with Alexandre Ricard, CEO of Pernod Ricard, Zamanian said he was reassured that he would retain creative freedom and "no handcuffs." The partnership has already resulted in a new brand, the Mary Dowling Whiskey Company, inspired by the "Mother of Bourbon," a successful female distiller in the male-dominated world of pre-Prohibition bourbon, who moved production to Mexico in 1926. Presently producing two distinct whiskies, their Mary Dowling Tequila Barrel is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in tequila casks to honor Mary's D & W Distillery in Juarez. Storytelling through distillation, particularly of brands lost to time, is something Zamanian is enthusiastic about and what he feels will ultimately separate a good bourbon from a truly great one.