Pernod Ricard has teamed up with Rabbit Hole distillery founder Kaveh Zamanian to create a new Bourbon: Mary Dowling. Pernod Ricard and Zamanian have worked together since 2019, when the French firm acquired a majority stake in Kentucky distillery Rabbit Hole.
The Mary Dowling Whiskey Company debuts with two expressions: a high-rye Bourbon finished in Tequila barrels and Double Oak Cask Strength Bourbon.
The brand is named after the “most successful and influential female distiller in the male-dominated world of pre-Prohibition Bourbon,” says a press release. Mary Dowling was known as the “mother of Bourbon,” the brand commented.
“Long obscured by the mists of time, Mary Dowling’s story is one of the most motivational and compelling in the annals of whiskey making,” said Zamanian. “We wanted to create a whiskey to honour her extraordinary character, celebrate her legacy and her iconic distillery, Waterfill & Frazier.”
“I am thrilled that my great-great-grandmother’s remarkable life story is finally being told,” added Cathy Brown, a direct descendant of Dowling. “Her journey inspires us to embrace challenges, to find solutions where others see obstacles and to celebrate the indomitable spirit within us.”
Made from a mash bill of 70% corn, 25% malted rye, and 5% malted barley, the Tequila Barrel expression is a Kentucky straight Bourbon matured in oloroso Sherry barrels for a year, and finished in reposado Tequila barrels to honour Dowling’s distillery in Juárez. The end product delivers fruity flavors and earthy, smoky tones followed by a black pepper finish. It is bottled between 46.7%-47.5% ABV.
Bottled at 53.5% ABV, the Mary Dowling Double Oak Barrel was matured in two different oak barrels from Kentucky’s Kelvin Cooperage. It was rested in heavily toasted and charred new American oak barrels, and lightly toasted charred new American oak barrels. The Bourbon carries notes of tobacco, cherry, and oak.
Mary Dowling Tequila Barrel is priced at $75 and Double Oak Barrel retails for $130. For more information, head over to the brand’s official website.