Rabbit Hole Amburana Straight Bourbon Whiskey Founders Collection

Rabbit Hole Amburana Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Founder’s Collection is an ultra-limited luxury bourbon that pushes the boundaries of traditional American whiskey through an exotic Brazilian oak finish. Rich, powerful, and deeply aromatic, the whiskey combines mature Kentucky bourbon character with the striking spice and sweetness of Amburana wood, creating a bold flavor profile of cinnamon, ginger, toasted coconut, and dark fruit. Bottled at cask strength and released in extremely limited quantities, it stands as one of the most distinctive expressions in Rabbit Hole’s collectible Founder’s Collection.

Origins & Craftsmanship
Rabbit Hole Distillery, located in Louisville, Kentucky, was founded by whiskey maker Kaveh Zamanian, whose philosophy emphasizes innovation, culinary-inspired mash bills, and unconventional cask maturation techniques. Rabbit Hole Distillery

The Amburana Founder’s Collection expression begins with a blend of 12-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, carefully selected from mature barrels before undergoing a secondary maturation.

The whiskey is then finished in new Brazilian Amburana oak barrels, a wood traditionally used to age cachaça. The barrels are heavily toasted and charred (#4 char), a process that caramelizes the natural sugars in the wood and opens the grain to impart intense flavor to the whiskey.

Amburana wood is known for contributing unusually aromatic notes—often described as cinnamon, gingerbread, and vanilla—creating a profile dramatically different from standard American oak maturation.

Key production details include:

• Age: 12-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon base

• Mash Bill: ~78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley

• Finish: New Brazilian Amburana oak barrels

• Proof: Approximately 125 proof (62.5–62.7% ABV)

• Production: Roughly 1,300 bottles released

With a retail price around $1,100, the whiskey sits firmly in collector territory and represents one of Rabbit Hole’s most ambitious experimental releases.

Critics Reviews

• Whisky Advocate tasting panel commentary describes the whiskey as intensely aromatic, with coconut, dried cherry, and leather notes on the nose, followed by a sweet palate of red berries, chocolate, and spice.

• Spirits reviewers frequently highlight the whiskey’s unique Amburana spice profile—ginger, cinnamon, toasted coconut, and tropical notes—unlike anything typically found in bourbon.

There are currently no widely published numeric scores from major whiskey publications for this specific release.

Tasting Profile

Nose:
Bold and exotic aromas of cinnamon stick, gingerbread, toasted coconut, dried cherry, and vanilla, layered with leather and warm baking spices.

Palate:
Full-bodied and syrupy with honeyed sweetness, red berries, caramelized sugar, and dark chocolate, balanced by Amburana’s signature spice and tropical wood tones.

Finish:
Long and warming with lingering cinnamon, toasted oak, cocoa, and pepper spice.

Quick Overview

Cocktail Recipes

Given its rarity and strength, this whiskey is best enjoyed neat, though it can elevate spirit-forward cocktails.

Amburana Old Fashioned

• 2 oz Rabbit Hole Amburana Bourbon

• ¼ oz demerara syrup

• 2 dashes aromatic bitters

Stir with ice and serve over a large cube with an orange peel.

Brazilian Boulevardier

• 1½ oz Rabbit Hole Amburana Bourbon

• 1 oz sweet vermouth

• 1 oz bitter aperitivo

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.