BLACKENED x Rabbit Hole Masters of Whiskey Series Calvados Cask Finished Straight Bourbon Whiskey

BLACKENED x Rabbit Hole Masters of Whiskey Series Calvados Cask Finished Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the 2023 Masters of Whiskey release, blended by Rob Dietrich and Rabbit Hole’s Kaveh Zamanian. A 13-year Tennessee bourbon, 64 percent corn and 36 percent rye, is married with Rabbit Hole Heigold, whose rye and barley are both malted: 70 percent corn, 25 percent malted rye, and 5 percent malted barley. That malted rye rounds the spice before the whiskey finishes in Calvados casks, the apple brandy of Normandy, which is where the cooked-apple sweetness comes from. During the finish the barrels are vibrated with low-frequency sound, Blackened’s Black Noise process, so the wood gives up more flavor. It is non-chill-filtered and 106.59 proof.

The brand nose is apple butter, rhubarb, honeysuckle, graham cracker, and macadamia. The palate is ripe pear, cinnamon, a smoky campfire edge, honey, and black walnut. The Daily Pour found the same dessert line with more oil: brown sugar, toffee, apple, pear, and graham cracker, closing long on apple, pear, toffee, praline, and orange peel. Robb Report tasted black pepper and cinnamon wrapped in juicy fruit and apple, with a warm finish that stays readable at this proof.