Blackened Whiskey recently announced its collaboration with Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Whiskey Maker, Kaveh Zamanian, founder of craft whiskey distillery, Rabbit Hole, for the 2023 release of its acclaimed “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 tenant of collaboration, uniting the expertise of two master craftsmen to reimagine craft whiskey and create new 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 basis of the partnership stems from both brands’ and distillers’ passion, reputation for forging their own paths in American Whiskey, and their ability to innovate. For its whiskeys, Zamanian looks beyond traditional methods, creating unique mash bills using malt sourced from Europe, while Blackened 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,” said Blackened Whiskey Master Distiller & Blender Rob 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,” added Rabbit Hole Founder Kaveh 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 Blackened x Rabbit Hole Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskey Distilled in Tennessee & Kentucky is available inlimited quantities for $149.
