Review #973 - Rabbit Hole Heigold
Rabbit Hole has 4 core whiskies as a brand: Dareringer (PX sherry finished bourbon), Cavehill (four grain bourbon), Boxergrail (sour mash rye), and this Heigold bourbon. The story here is a high-rye mashbill, but also two types of malt: malted rye and malted barley. The full mashbill is 70% corn, 25% malted rye, and 5% malted barley.
Our past experience with malted rye as a whisky component has generally been very good; examples such as New Riff's 6 Year Malted Rye show that this category can be affordable and available, even though rye is notoriously tricky to work with. Because of that, we're excited to see what it adds here.
There isn't much other information available on this bottle, though. We do know that it's 3 years old, and the Rabbit Hole website specifies that all of their barrels are toasted in addition to charring. All of those specs are wrapped up in a somewhat reasonable price of $45 to $50 - let's see how it stacks up.
Rabbit Hole Heigold
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 45 (2026)
Age Statement: 3 Years
Strength: 47.5% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 5 years from various bottles and samples. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Toasted oak and orange peel, vanilla, a little grain-forward at times with hay and grassy notes. Black pepper adds a spice, but we also get caramel and maple syrup, maybe brown sugar on pancakes. Clove and molasses were accents, and in one tasting we found a hint of red fruit.
Palate: Toasted oak, baking spice, and nutty notes - almond, vanilla, barrel char, and tannins. Molasses and creamy banana arrive to bring sweetness, and we get cinnamon, black pepper, and a bit of a 'craft' oak note. It's a medium-thin mouthfeel.
Finish: Soft spice and warmth lingers; toasted oak continues, and we also get brown sugar, dried grass, tannins, and a bit of vanilla. Toasted marshmallow lingers in the aftertaste; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: There aren't any major flaws with this bourbon, but it tastes a bit young and underdeveloped. The flavors are very "middle-of-the-road" and typical for entry-level bourbons, with some basic oak and spice notes, along with a bit of sugary sweetness. We think this is a solid starting point, but we would be interested to see how this bourbon tastes with several more years of maturation to develop a bit more complexity.
Value here is fine, around average; it's an okay bourbon, but the price is reasonable too, so it balances out.
Our Rating: 5.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.90
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Rabbit Hole reviews:
