- Rabbit Hole debuted the Raceking Founder’s Collection, Rabbit Hole’s third installment of their Founder’s Collection
- Raceking is a Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon with a truly unique mashbill that explores how malting can expand the flavors of a bourbon
- Due to very limited quantities and a high price tag, Rabbit Hole’s Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon is hard to find but the juice is worth the squeeze
- Read more BroBible articles here
Rabbit Hole recently debuted the third installment of their Founder’s Collection. The Raceking Founder’s Collection is a Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon that shines the spotlight on how malting can expand the flavors of bourbon in ways most people would never realize.
This was the first of the three Founder’s Collection releases from Rabbit Hole that I’ve been able to sample so I don’t have a point of comparison with the others. Likewise, while I’ve sampled plenty of whiskeys with unique mashbills this is also more first double chocolate malt bourbon. First things first though, can we just acknowledge how strong the name ‘Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon’ is?
Also, full disclosure: I was given a sample of this to taste but wasn’t compensated for this article nor did I even need to write this review, I just enjoyed it so much I felt compelled to share.
If I see that on a menu, I’m ordering it. It immediately signals to me that a master distiller somewhere put A LOT of thought into the recipe and I want to see what it’s all about. Let’s check out the fast facts before we get to the tasting notes:
Rabbit Hole Raceking Founder’s Collection Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon
- Raceking is a Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon that uses chocolate wheat from Germany and a chocolate barley from the UK which delivers ‘aromatic top notes’ and a ‘rich essence of chocolate’
- The Raceking Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon has a mashbill of 70% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Rye, 4% Chocolate Malted Wheat, and 3% Chocolate Malted Barley
- Raceking is a cask-strength expression clocking in at 109.2 prooof
- Only 1,365 (sequentially numbered) bottles were released and each one has a suggested retail price of $295
As was mentioned above, this was the third Founder’s Collection release from Rabbit Hole founder Kaveh Zamanian. Their Founder’s Collection is a bi-annual cask-strength release from Kaveh Zamanian and he features unique expressions that are meant to showcase creativity in the whiskey world. And he delivered with the Raceking.
Before distilling the Raceking, Kaveh went around to multiple malt houses and spoke with master malters. He tasted chocolate grains and was so impressed by the flavors he immediately knew he wanted to bring them into a whiskey of his own.
Of course, he could’ve fired up the factory and produced an untested whiskey that didn’t turn out to be exceptional. But in their words, “the potential reward is worth the risk” so they ran the mashbill with 70% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Rye, 4% Chocolate Malted Wheat, and 3% Chocolate Malted Barley. After filling the barrels it was a four year waiting game that turned out to be one of the most complex 4-year-old whiskeys I’ve ever tasted, and one of my favorite releases in the latter half of 2021.
Rabbit Hole Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon Tasting Notes
As you would expect, there’s a rich wave of chocolate upfront. You’ll find a rush of chocolate and espresso notes on top. Dig a little deeper and that chocolate is being nuzzled by warm toasted bread and brown sugar. Across the tongue, you’ll find black cherry, cinnamon spice, and some tobacco. With a lingering finish you’ll rediscover that chocolate which has now taken on a new life and it’s complemented by wood and leather.
Kaveh suggests the best way to drink Rabbit Hole’s Raceking is however you prefer your bourbon. That might be neat, with a drop of water, or over a large ice cube. There’s no wrong way to drink bourbon as long as you’re enjoying yourself.
You can search for the Rabbit Hole Raceking Five-Grain Double Chocolate Malt Bourbon here on their website as well as follow them on Twitter for the latest Rabbit Hole news! And you can hit that ‘shop’ button below to search for this and other Rabbit Hole releases on Drizly.
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