Taste Test: This $900 Bourbon Is Not Worth the Splurge

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

Another week, another cask-finished whiskey review. There’s nothing inherently tired or boring about this whiskey trend, it’s just that some are really well done and others . . . not so much. And even if the cask finish results in a complex and balanced whiskey, can you really justify charging $900 for a 9-year-old bourbon that was finished in armagnac barrels? Rabbit Hole thinks its latest Founder’s Collection expression is worth the splurge, but I have to disagree.

Rabbit Hole was founded more than a decade ago in 2012, and it has been making whiskey in its state-of-the-art Louisville distillery since 2018. That means that much of the whiskey in the bottles is contract distilled or sourced, a very common practice especially for a new distillery that’s waiting for its own liquid to come of age. While some of the core expressions contain in-house distilled bourbon and rye, the older and much more expensive Founder’s Collection releases clearly do not, given their age. Some of these have been quite good: The 15-year-old Mizunara Cask bourbon stands out, although perhaps not as much as Bardstown Bourbon Company’s exemplary take on this type of secondary maturation.

The latest Founder’s Collection release is called Adourra, and it’s a 9-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (the source is undisclosed) that was finished in armagnac casks from Southern France for an undisclosed amount of time. The brand says the armagnac was aged using the solera method, in which older barrels are topped off with newer brandy so that there is always some well-aged spirit in the mix. There’s really not much more information available than that, but any other details won’t change the fact that this bourbon is okay, but nowhere near worth its asking price.

It’s not just that you can find a lot of bourbon around this age and/or finished in armagnac barrels for a fraction of the price—Russell’s Reserve, Bhakta Spirits, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Old Elk, and Yellowstone are just a few—and I might be less critical of Adourra if it cost less than $100. The whiskey is a bit grainy on the palate, with notes of raisin, black pepper, apricot, molasses, and butterscotch, and there’s some heat given that it’s bottled at 108 proof. It’s not the worst example of this type of cask finish I’ve ever tried, but it’s certainly not the best. Each bottle is individually numbered and comes in a nice decanter and box, but that still doesn’t make it worth $900—although a look at the secondary market shows it’s currently selling at a discount, which might be a sign of how it’s being received. There are plenty of Rabbit Hole whiskeys I’ve enjoyed, and the core lineup is a solid option for those who would like to try some new-school Kentucky bourbon and rye made from unique mashbills. But if you’re looking to splurge on a splashy new whiskey, Adourra is not worth the price of admission.

Score: 82