Regardless that Scotch could be very a lot my tipple of selection, those that are aware of the blogs right here at Nice Drams, will know that I do actually get pleasure from a bourbon every so often. One particularly, that I used to be very desirous to strive, was Dareringer, from Rabbit Gap.
Right here at Nice Drams, we love a superb background story, and Rabbit Gap bourbon definitely has that. The great people over in Kentucky know extra about bourbon than I might ever want to declare. They’re keen about bourbon and Rabbit Gap could be probably the most passionate of the lot.
Based by Kaveh Zamanian and his spouse, Heather, who herself was born and raised in Louisville, he determined to take the idea of bourbon, and flip it on its head. He wished to create one thing totally different. One thing new, that had by no means been performed earlier than. To take action, he wanted to journey down the metaphorical rabbit gap. It was right here, that the Rabbit Gap model was born.
Right here’s a overview of Rabbit Gap Dareringer whiskey, and the way it got here to be.
Falling Down the Rabbit Gap
Consider bourbon whiskey, and also you in fact consider the USA. To be extra exact, you consider Kentucky. It seems that they don’t simply make outstanding fried hen down there, in addition they make distinctive whiskey.
The principle downside, should you can name it that, with the bourbon whiskey market, is that it’s completely saturated. In the event you’re a bourbon drinker, you’re definitely spoiled for selection. The principle challenge is {that a} truthful outdated share of the distilleries are merely buying current bourbon, slapping their label on it, and promoting it as is. Don’t get us mistaken, there’s completely nothing mistaken with that, removed from it, actually, it simply implies that there isn’t as a lot innovation within the business as we’ve got over right here maybe, with our Scotch.
Kaveh, who himself was an enormous fan of Scotch, was satisfied by his spouse, Heather, to transition away from Scotch and take a look at his hand at bourbon. Kaveh nevertheless, wished one thing totally different. He wished to provide bourbon drinkers a beverage that had by no means been performed earlier than. He wished his bourbon to face out from the competitors. So as to take action, he wanted to fall down the rabbit gap. This was not solely the place the inspiration for his model’s title happened, nevertheless it was additionally throughout this era of analysis, that he appeared into completed bourbons.
It’s All within the End
It wasn’t too way back that the idea of a completed bourbon was nearly alien to lots of people. It was one thing extraordinarily distinctive and one thing you typically wouldn’t discover on this planet of bourbon. Actually, some bourbon purists would nearly think about it’s tantamount to sacrilege.
The flavours you are inclined to get with bourbon are very totally different to Scotch. Whereas many wonderful Scotches may be made exception when completed in an ex-sherry or port cask for instance, that doesn’t imply the identical flavours and profiles would work simply as nicely if the identical approach was utilized to bourbon.
Ending any whiskey/whisky requires an enormous quantity of experience and endurance. You may’t simply dump it into any outdated cask, overlook about it for a number of years, and hope for the very best. You might want to perceive how bourbon behaves, the way it tastes, the way it reacts to its environments, and the way it may be elevated.
When Kaveh based Rabbit Gap in 2012, after being launched to bourbon by Heather, he knew he needed to produce one thing very particular to win over the Kentucky natives. The model’s ethos is centred round love and help, and that’s actually nice to see.
Kaveh determined that ending was the best way to go, and within the case of Rabbit Gap Dareringer, Pedro Ximenez sherry casks have been chosen. The outcomes spoke for themselves. Â