From the uncompromising palate of Mike Safai comes the debut release of Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon — the first of many whiskeys to come. Safai combines his passion for brewing and distilling with an extraordinary gift for sensory. Together, these passions present a rare Bourbon utilizing methods which coax out flavors no one ever imagined possible. 

“I have always looked for new and innovative ways to consider flavors,” Safai said in a news 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.” 

Distilled at New Riff Distillery in Newport, Ky., the whiskey entered the barrels at 110 proof. The two barrels of this Single Barrel Safai Bourbon were aged at New Riff for six years. Safai kept the barrels in storage for an additional two years after moving them to Left Bank Spirits in Louisville. 

The whiskey matured to 122 proof and was bottled at 112 proof. It retails at $300 and is available at retail and safaibourbon.com. Each Safai Bourbon will be a once-in-a-lifetime marker of distinction for whiskey collectors. Those aficionados of the brand will have early access to subsequent releases. 

Originally, the mashbill was intended to be a wheat beer. Safai, always one to test his inner curiosity, thought the recipe featuring honey-roasted malt would extract interesting flavor characteristics. Eight years later that test is ready for the Whiskey world. 

This uncompromising search for the perfect blend, ingredients and process led him to create industry-resetting recipes for Bourbon as one of the co-founders of Rabbit Hole Distillery. Ever the explorer, he continued on his own to refine his thinking and methods to push the boundaries of possibilities in Bourbon.

Read more: Top 100 American Whiskeys of 2023 — RANKED 

About Mike Safai 

A co-founder of Rabbit Hole Distilling, Mike Safai moved on from the distillery and founded Safai Coffee. While growing the coffee business, he maintained a small collection of American Whiskey barrels that are a mix of standard mash bills and small curiosities that he expects to mature into world-class whiskeys. He imagines unique flavors as a biologically established “super taster” which results in an extra sensitive palate. Always an entrepreneur, Safai is a co-founder of Logan Street Market in Louisville. Learn more at https://safaibourbon.com/.