Horse racing is almost as synonymous with Kentucky as bourbon. So when Kaveh Zamanian, founder and whiskey maker of Rabbit Hole, recently announced that the brand’s latest Founder’s Collection expression, would be called Raceking, it made sense.
Raceking is the third expression of the Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection series and was named in honor of Kentucky’s time-honored tradition of horse racing. The five-grain, double chocolate malt bourbon is being re-released and will subsequently be released annually in fall.
With its mash bill, Raceking explores how malting organically expands the range of flavors in whiskey. Through proprietary malting processes, a chocolate wheat from Germany and a chocolate barley from the UK achieve the top notes and essence of chocolate when cooked according to Rabbit Hole’s own methods and met with aging in wood-fired, toasted and charred new American Oak barrels.
“Creating Raceking was part art, part science and a true risk-reward proposition for us. I wanted to bring out unique flavors in the whiskey without any adulteration or flavoring, instead letting the malted grains and the way we cook and process them tell the story,” said Kaveh Zamanian, Rabbit Hole’s Founder and Whiskey Maker. “Being able to execute this from a process standpoint and bringing the liquid to life was very challenging, so Raceking began as a small batch ‘experiment’ if you will. There was an element of uncertainty when we developed the recipe and the process, but the potential reward proved to be worth the risk as I had a hunch it would. Raceking represents our passion for creativity and innovation, and I’m especially proud that we will be able to release this special whiskey annually moving forward.”
Raceking is offered at cask strength to highlight the double chocolate-malted grains and their effect on the whiskey. In keeping with the aesthetic of Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection, the presentation of Raceking consists of a linen-patterned box featuring the brand’s rabbit marque surrounded by metallic gold appointments and sophisticated accents. The color palette extends to the bottle which features embossed-glass detailing of the brand’s sash label and includes a gold cork engraved with Kaveh’s family crest of “Amare et Opus,” which speaks to his motto of loving what you do.
The mash bill of Raceking is 70% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Rye, 4% Chocolate Malted Wheat, 3% Chocolate Malted Barley and the spirit is 109.8 proof.
Rabbit Hole Raceking Founder’s Collection will be available exclusively at the Rabbit Hole Distillery now and available nationally beginning in early 2023. Only 1,335 sequentially-numbered bottles will be released at $395 per bottle.
