Distillery Thursday: Rabbit Hole Distillery’s Story Begins with Love

What happens when a clinical psychologist in America falls head over heels for Kentucky’s water of life and dives deep into its history? That’s exactly what we’re sharing in this Distillery Thursday. Travel with us to the United States for a story of love and bourbon.

The story of Rabbit Hole Distillery begins with love. It all starts with Kaveh Zamanian, a psychologist from Iran. He grows up in Southern California and builds a career as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. One day, Zamanian decides to move to Chicago. What awaits him there will change his life.

In Chicago he meets Heather, and the two fall in love. While Zamanian is a fan of Scotch, Heather is obsessed with bourbon. She’s originally from Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city. She urges Zamanian to try a good bourbon. As soon as he does, he falls in love all over again: this time with America’s spirit.

The Iranian wants to learn everything about it and decides to dig in. He quickly notices a fair lack of transparency and authenticity in the bourbon world. He sees that various distillers have worked with the spirit over the years, but there isn’t much to set many brands and labels apart.

So he sets out to learn how this spirit is made from the ground up. He starts with the basics: the grain. Then he works step by step toward the final product. It becomes an obsession that eventually leads Zamanian to a difficult conversation with his wife.

He has decided that his calling lies with whiskey. He tells her he wants to leave his career behind and devote himself entirely to the spirit. To do that, he wants to move to Louisville and launch a new brand there.

Zamanian’s wife nearly calls him crazy and tells him he’s dragging the family down a rabbit hole they’ll never climb out of. If they take this leap, it’s for good. Heather’s remark only inspires the psychologist. He decides to follow through, pack the bags, and start a distillery in Louisville. The company’s name: Rabbit Hole Distillery, after his wife’s comment.

Once in Louisville, Zamanian officially establishes his company. It’s 2012, and he immediately starts by acquiring whiskey recipes. He also begins buying contract whiskey (spirit produced by another distillery). At that point, not a single stone has been laid for Rabbit Hole Distillery.

That changes in 2016. Construction on the facility begins that year. The work takes about two years, and in 2018 the distillery opens its doors in New Louisville. On 55,000 square meters, Zamanian pours his passion into a massive stillhouse designed by architect Doug Person.

The building has an incredibly modern, industrial look and is a work of art in its own right. The front of the distillery features a huge panel depicting a rabbit: the same rabbit you’ll find on expressions like Cavehill.

The distillery itself was built with sustainability in mind. Zamanian chose local materials for construction, and the spaces are cleverly designed for energy efficiency. Rabbit Hole Distillery runs year-round, non-stop. If you visit, you’re essentially experiencing a piece of living art that’s always in motion. Speaking of art: during tours you can also enjoy other artworks on display throughout the distillery.

Of course, the main reason for a whisky lover to visit Rabbit Hole Distillery is the whiskey itself. The American distiller has released five expressions so far. We recently took a closer look at one of them in our Rabbit Hole Cavehill Whiskey Review.

Photo: Rabbit Hole Distillery.