Rabbit Hole Founder's Collection: Mizunara Cask Strength

Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection Mizunara Cask Strength feels like Kentucky meeting Kyoto in one very serious glass. This rare release blends 15-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons, then finishes them for an extra year in new Japanese Mizunara oak. It’s bottled at cask strength, 114.2 proof, with no chill filtration, so every layer of oak, fruit, and spice stays intact.

The nose opens lush and aromatic, overflowing with banana, apple, pear, cherry, and a sharp twist of black pepper and mint. Sweet oak, baking spice, and a faint sandalwood note drift in behind, giving the aroma a polished yet slightly exotic edge.

On the palate, the whiskey arrives silky and concentrated, carrying caramel, toasted oak, nutmeg, black pepper, and tobacco leaf atop dark fruit. Mizunara brings incense-like wood, black tea, and subtle citrus oil, threading through the sweetness without ever turning the oak bitter. Heat builds gradually rather than spiking, letting you appreciate the shifting layers of spice, fruit, and wood as the glass sits and slowly opens.

The finish glows long and buttery, carrying cinnamon, nutmeg, dark chocolate, and toasted oak over a lingering haze of mint and Mizunara incense. Richness lingers on the tongue while gentle tannin tightens the edges, keeping everything precise rather than syrupy.

Nose: Banana, baked apple, pear, and cherry rise first, framed by sweet oak, vanilla, and a streak of black pepper.
Mint, sandalwood, and gentle baking spice drift in behind, adding a cool, incense-like layer to the fruit.
The air feels perfumed, not heavy.

Palate: Caramel, toasted oak, and brown sugar lead, joined by nutmeg, cinnamon, and tobacco leaf over ripe stone fruit and dark cherry. Mizunara shows as sandalwood, black tea, and faint citrus peel, carried on a silky, almost creamy texture at full cask strength. The proof stays firm but controlled.

Finish: Luxurious and long, the finish lingers with buttered oak, cinnamon, clove, and caramelized sugar wrapped around fading cherry and dried tropical fruit.
A soft mint note and gentle smoke-like woodiness remain, leaving the palate warm, coated, and ready for a slow second pour. It trails off in slow waves.

This Mizunara-finished bourbon loves richly flavored dishes where sweetness, char, and fat can play off its fruit and spice.

Simple food works best here. Think miso-glazed salmon, soy-marinated short ribs, or charcoal-grilled pork belly brushed with a light honey-and-ginger glaze.

Aged Gouda, nutty Gruyère, or washed-rind cheeses echo the whiskey’s caramel and oak while adding a savory backbone.

For dessert, reach for a dark chocolate tart, black sesame ice cream, or a cinnamon-dusted pecan pie to underline its buttery, spicy finish.