Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Smooth with a slight burn at the end

Pecan, woody, rich, pretty smooth

I was fortunate enough to attend a Rabbit Hole tasting several weeks ago with the company's founder, Kaveh Zamanian, who started the distillery after a career as a psychoanalyst. I'd seen the distinctive bottles in numerous liquor stores, but had never tried any of them. The tasting with Kaveh changed that, and I'm now a big fan of all their products. The Cavehill has a clear burnt orange color--not quite as dark as the Dareinger, which is aged in sherry casks. Sweet, inviting nose with cinnamon applesauce, oak, vanilla, honey, some well-integrated ethanol, and a cool spearmint. The sweetness continues on the palate, with demerara sugar simple-syrup (without the viscosity), while the 95 proof supplies a satisfying spicy burn, before finishing with vanilla and Cheerios. Extremely drinkable. Hard to believe that the "over three years" aging can produce a bourbon this good. As the distillery's stocks mature, I'm excited to see future releases as well. N.B. All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.