After six years of silence, one of the most talked-about bourbons in Rabbit Hole's lineup has returned. Raceking, the Kentucky distillery's five-grain limited release, is back on shelves at select retailers nationwide, and whiskey drinkers who missed the last run are already paying attention.
Image credit: Rabbit Hole
This isn't a rebranded cash grab or a name slapped on a new recipe. The 2024 release of Raceking is a 6-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon produced entirely at Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville—no sourcing, no shortcuts. It carries the same spirit that made the original release a standout, but with six years of patience baked into every bottle.
What Makes This Bourbon Different
The story of Raceking starts with the grain, and that's not just marketing talk. Rabbit Hole built their entire identity around using a culinary approach to mash bill construction, treating grain selection the way a chef treats ingredients rather than the way most distillers treat raw material. The result is a five-grain mash bill that doesn't look like anything else on the market.
The recipe breaks down to 70% corn, 13% rye, 10% malted rye, 4% chocolate-malted wheat, and 3% chocolate-malted barley. That last duo—the chocolate-malted wheat and chocolate-malted barley—is the twist. Most bourbons don't use chocolate malt at all. Rabbit Hole uses two different versions of it, layering in a roasted, cocoa-forward depth that sets Raceking apart from the standard high-corn or high-rye bourbons that dominate the shelf.
The whole thing was aged for six years in new American oak barrels, which is long enough to develop serious character without losing the grain-forward personality that makes the mash bill worth talking about in the first place.
The Nose, the Palate, the Finish
Opening a bottle of Raceking, the first thing that hits is rich toffee followed by toasted almonds and brown sugar. There's nutmeg in there, baking spice working underneath everything, the kind of aroma that reminds you of a kitchen more than a bar. It's inviting without being soft.
On the palate, the chocolate malt starts doing its work. Roasted espresso beans lead the charge, followed by cocoa, hazelnut, and caramel. Clove and cardamom show up toward the back of the sip, giving the whole thing a spiced complexity that keeps it interesting from front to finish.
The finish is where Raceking earns its age statement. Tobacco, leather, and oak settle in—serious, dry, measured. Dark chocolate lingers alongside barrel spice, and the whole thing fades slowly. This is not a bourbon that disappears the moment it leaves the glass. It stays with you.
The Name Has Meaning
Raceking isn't a random name cooked up in a branding meeting. It's a direct nod to Kentucky's horse racing culture, the tradition that defines the state as much as bourbon does. The Kentucky Derby runs every May in Louisville, a few miles from the distillery, and the connection between the two industries—bourbon and racing—runs deep through the region's history.
Rabbit Hole leaned into that connection deliberately. The name implies pedigree, competition, and winning, which is exactly the kind of confidence you'd want behind a limited-edition whiskey that took six years to bring to market.
Why the Limited Release Model Matters
Raceking isn't going to be sitting on every shelf for the next three years. It's a limited annual release, which means once it's gone from a particular retailer, it's gone. That's not artificial scarcity for the sake of hype—it's the reality of producing a six-year-old whiskey in small batches without cutting corners on quality or production timeline.
For collectors and serious drinkers, the limited release model means Raceking rewards people who pay attention. Rabbit Hole makes their retail locator available so buyers can find bottles near them before the allocation runs out. At this point in the bourbon market, where limited releases from well-regarded distilleries tend to move fast, that kind of proactive hunting pays off.
Rabbit Hole's Bigger Philosophy
Understanding Raceking means understanding what Rabbit Hole is trying to do as a distillery. They're not chasing tradition for its own sake. The Louisville distillery, which opened in 2018, built its reputation on doing things differently—using specialty grains, developing original mash bills, and approaching whiskey production with the same mindset a serious chef brings to a kitchen.
"At Rabbit Hole, innovation starts with the grain," the distillery has stated. "Each of our meticulously crafted mashbills is a testament to our dedication to reimagining American whiskey."
That philosophy shows up clearly in Raceking. A five-grain mash bill with two types of chocolate malt isn't something a distillery stumbles into by accident. It takes deliberate recipe development, patience during aging, and confidence that the unconventional approach will produce something worth drinking. Six years later, the results back up that confidence.
Where Raceking Fits in a Whiskey Collection
For someone who already has their go-to everyday bourbon figured out and is looking for something to drink on a slower evening or add to a serious collection, Raceking fills a real gap. The chocolate malt character makes it genuinely different from high-rye bourbons like Four Roses Single Barrel or Knob Creek Rye, but it's also not trying to be a dessert whiskey. The tobacco and leather finish keeps it grounded and masculine without being aggressive.
It fits alongside other craft distillery releases that prioritize grain complexity over age statement bragging, but the six-year maturation gives it more structure than a lot of younger craft products that hit the market before they're ready.
The cardamom and clove notes on the palate give it enough spice to appeal to drinkers who typically reach for rye, while the caramel and hazelnut middle will satisfy someone coming from a wheated bourbon background. It's a rare thing in whiskey—a bottle that doesn't fit neatly into one camp.
The Bottom Line
Raceking is back, it's limited, and it delivers. Rabbit Hole spent six years waiting for this bourbon to be ready, and the five-grain mash bill built around chocolate-malted wheat and barley makes it one of the more distinctive releases to hit the market this year. The nose is inviting, the palate is complex, and the finish is long and dry in all the right ways.
For anyone who takes their bourbon seriously and wants something that doesn't taste like everything else on their shelf, this is worth tracking down. Check the retail locator, find a bottle nearby, and don't wait too long.
