BLACKENED Whiskey announces a collaboration with Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame whiskey maker, Kaveh Zamanian, founder of craft whiskey distillery, Rabbit Hole, for the 2023 release of its Masters of Whiskey Series.
Together, BLACKENED master distiller & blender, Rob Dietrich, and Zamanian have created the BLACKENED x Rabbit Hole Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskey Distilled in Tennessee & Kentucky. Finished in Calvados casks, the blend is bottled at cask strength at a proof of 106.59, and non-chill filtered.
Debuted in 2021 with the BLACKENED x Willett Straight Rye Finished in Madeira casks, the Masters of Whiskey Series is built upon the brand’s core tenant of collaboration, uniting the unparalleled expertise of two master craftsmen to reimagine craft whiskey and create new, extraordinary expressions.
For this release, Dietrich and Zamanian crafted the expression from a base of 13-year-old straight Tennessee bourbon whiskey featuring a mash bill of 64% corn, 36% rye and Rabbit Hole Heigold High Rye Double Malt Kentucky straight bourbon, made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 25% malted rye, and 5% malted barley. The whiskey is then finished in Calvados Casks, imparting sweeter notes as Calvados is an apple brandy. The resulting expression features notes of apple butter, rhubarb, honey-suckle, graham cracker and macadamia nut on the nose and hints of ripe pear, cinnamon stick, smoky campfire, field clover, honey and black walnut on the palate.
The basis of the partnership stems from both brands’ and distillers’ uncompromising passion, reputation for forging their own paths in American Whiskey, and most importantly, their ability to innovate. For its whiskeys, Rabbit Hole’s chief whiskey maker, Zamanian, looks beyond traditional methods, creating one-of-a-kind mash bills using malt sourced from Europe, while BLACKENED Whiskey pushes the envelope with its Black Noise sonic-enhancement process.
During finishing, the whiskey is sonically-enhanced to extract more flavor from the finishing casks, using a patent-pending scientific process co-developed by the sound engineers at Meyer Sound. The process produces low hertz sound waves causing the whiskey to reverberate at a fast rate, interacting with the oak staves of the finishing barrel, measurably releasing wood compounds and flavors. Their ardor for constantly challenging traditional whiskey-making processes and treating the craft as an art form led them to the flavorful blend.
“It was great working with Kaveh, as we came in with different backgrounds and similar mindsets, with a passion to create something unusual and unique to see where we could take it,” explained Dietrich. “We were both interested in starting with the 13-year-old Tennessee bourbon whiskey, and then worked back to see what was going to pair well with that as far as mash bill and blending different whiskeys from their distillery. We were really looking for something that balanced and layered the flavor profiles together, then adding a dash of flavor through the Calvados cask finishing. I’m ecstatic at what we came up with!”
“It was so exciting to be able to work with BLACKENED Whiskey and Rob Dietrich,” said Zamanian. “It seems like it was just an organic process, more art than science when we came together. It’s always great to be able to work with whiskey makers who are doing new things, such as BLACKENED, as it helps us learn more and improve our game. And ultimately the consumers benefit from it too, because you get new expressions—something that’s genuinely different and a blend of our different approaches and voices.”
“The Masters of Whiskey Series represents our dedication to innovation and speaks to our core principle of collaboration,” said Metallica bassist, Robert Trujillo. “Just as Metallica always tries to blaze new trails with our music and artistic style, we love that we are able to do the same with our approach to crafting exceptional whiskey.”
As a testament to the collaboration and taste, the expression was entered into the 2023 New York Wine & Spirits Competition (NYWSC), where it was awarded a gold medal.
The award-winning expression is available both in-store and online for limited quantities for a suggested retail price of $149. To purchase online, find local retailers, or gather more information, visit BLACKENED Whiskey’s website www.BlackenedWhiskey.com and follow on social at @BlackenedAmericanWhiskey. For more information on Rabbit Hole Distillery, visit the website at www.rabbitholedistillery.com.