A little background
Rabbit Hole Amrûlé Rye Whiskey Finished in Maple Brûlé Casks is a limited-edition release from Rabbit Hole Distillery‘s Distillery Series, available exclusively at the distillery’s Louisville, Kentucky location for $49.99. Built on the distillery’s Boxergrail Sour Mash Rye — a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley — the whiskey is aged over four years before spending nine months in custom Maple Brûlé barrels sourced from Tonnellerie Moreau in Quebec. Those barrels are treated with maple seasoning and a high-intensity char, which Rabbit Hole describes as creating a “smoky, dark caramel veil” on the interior wood. The expression is bottled at cask strength at 104.4 proof (52.2% ABV).
Rabbit Hole Distillery was founded in 2012 by Kaveh Zamanian, a former clinical psychologist whose passion for American whiskey led him to establish one of Louisville’s most architecturally distinctive craft distilleries. The distillery is recognized as an Architectural Icon of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and produces its bourbon and rye whiskeys using signature malted grain mash bills and lower barrel-entry proofs to preserve flavor integrity during maturation. The Distillery Series, of which Amrûlé is a part, is an experimental, cask-strength lineup available only on-site at the distillery, with each release exploring unconventional barrel finishing techniques in small batches of 15 barrels at a time.
(Tasted neat from a Glencairn glass)
Color
Dark Gold
Nose
Caramel, orange citrus, toasted pecans, toffee, and dark brown sugar.
Palate
Caramel, apple, cherry, baking spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice), rye spice, and oak.
Finish
Baking spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice), black pepper, rye spice, and lingering sweetness.
In closing
Rabbit Hole Amrûlé Rye Whiskey Finished in Maple Brûlé Casks is one of those releases that reminds you why limited, distillery-exclusive expressions exist in the first place. The maple brûlé finish does exactly what a great finish should; it adds dimension without taking over. This sounds simple…but so many get it wrong. The nose opens with caramel, citrus, toasted pecans, toffee, and dark brown sugar, and the palate follows through with caramel, apple, cherry, baking spice, rye spice, and oak before landing on a warm, enjoyably long finish of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, and a touch of sweetness that fades gracefully.
A lot of maple-finished whiskeys end up being too much of a good thing, where the maple influence completely takes over and you’re left with something that drinks more like dessert than whiskey. Rabbit Hole got the balance right here. The maple is present, but so is the rye, and neither one is fighting the other for your attention. At $49.99 for a cask-strength, nine-month specialty-finished release bottled at 104.4 proof, the value proposition is strong for what you’re getting. The only real frustrations here are both out of your control: you have to make the trip to Louisville to get it, and when you do, you’re walking away with a 375ml bottle, which after tasting it, feels like it should have been a full 750ml. If you find yourself at Rabbit Hole Distillery, do not leave without a bottle of Amrûlé. It’s the kind of whiskey you’ll be wishing you had grabbed two of on the drive home.
The Bourbon tasted for this review was provided by Rabbit Hole Distillery with no strings attached.
Rabbit Hole Amrûlé Rye Whiskey Finished in Maple Brûlé Casks
The Good
- Unique flavor profile
- Value
- Complexity
The Bad
- Availability
