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Safai Bourbon is entering the whiskey market with a new single barrel bourbon

The cofounder of Rabbit Hole is launching a new whiskey

By Christopher Osburn Published October 17, 2024

Safai Bourbon

Mike Safai is the co-founder of Rabbit Hole Distilling. He has since moved on from the popular distillery and founded Safai Coffee. Even while growing his coffee business, he held onto a collection of American whiskey barrels just in case he wanted to get back into the whiskey game. Well, it obviously drew him back in because recently, Safai Bourbon launched its first expression, a single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbon.

Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Safai Bourbon

Distilled at New Riff Distillery in Newport, Kentucky, Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon is the first release from the renowned whiskey innovator. The mash bill was initially made not for a whiskey but for a wheat beer. In addition to corn, it also contains a unique ingredient: honey-roasted malt.

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Only consisting of two barrels, the whiskey that would eventually be Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon was matured for six years in charred oak barrels. Safai then took the barrels and stored them for two more years at Left Bank Spirits in Louisville. The final product is a rich, bold, complex 112-proof sipping whiskey.

“I have always looked for new and innovative ways to consider flavors,” Safai said in a press release. “Changing the roasting process for coffee beans, restaging the ingredients when making beer, or restructuring the cooking process of the mash in bourbon and then altering the char in the barrel to change the chemistry of the juice are ways to challenge what we can imagine possible.”

Where can I buy it?

glass of whiskey — DanielViero / Adobe Stock

The first of many unique, flavorful whiskeys, Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon is available at select retailers and Safaibourbon.com for a suggested retail price of $300.

Christopher Osburn

Writer

Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional

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