THE DISTILLERY

Kaveh Zamanian fell in love with a Kentucky native and then with her bourbon. After emigrating from Iran as a child, Zamanian grew up in Los Angeles and lived in New York and Chicago, working as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst for over 20 years. In Chicago, he met his future wife, Heather, a fourth-generation Louisville native who introduced him to bourbon. From there, an obsession was born. Early in his journey about 15 years ago, Zamanian decided there was no better way to learn how to make Kentucky bourbon than from some of its most respected distillers. Back then, there wasn't as much enthusiasm as there is today, so it was easier to gain access to veterans like Larry Ebersole, who was Seagram's master distiller for 25 years, and former Four Roses master distiller Jim Routledge. From there, he was able to begin developing his own recipes, guided by a desire to contribute to American whiskey in a unique way. The idea was that no two expressions would be alike. Zamanian officially founded Rabbit Hole in 2012, before having a distillery at home. In the meantime, he found a producer to make his recipes for him while working hand in hand with an architect to design and oversee the construction of his own site in the heart of Louisville. In 2016, the first bottle of Rabbit Hole whiskey was released. The distillery itself opened in May 2018 in the heart of NuLu, the city's creative district. It's a giant, shiny space, a glass and steel structure that allows for a fully immersive experience of sights, sounds, and smells that introduces visitors to the whiskey-making process. A top-floor bar, The Overlook, serves cocktails with views of the city. This is what you might think a modern distillery would look like. No matter your level of involvement with whisky, you'll feel like you've stepped out of the rabbit hole and into wonderland. The capacity allows Rabbit Hole to produce 1.2 million proof gallons (5.5 million liters at 50% ABV) per year, which equates to 27,000 barrels filled annually. The process of creating Rabbit Hole begins with selecting one of five different recipes Zamanian has devised. He also works on a handful of finishing projects and experiments with rye and single malt. In 2019, a majority stake was acquired by Pernod Ricard.