If you're an Anglophone whiskyphile, you may or may not have heard of French indie spirits bottler La Distillerie Générale (LDG). But you should.

Its signature is to release spirits in bottles that have vibrant cloth labels, beautifully embroidered by French ribbon manufacturer Neyret (founded way back in 1823).

LDG is now debuting in LMDW's 2023 catalogue with a duo of two American craft bourbon distilleries: Smooth Ambler – a distillery located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains — and Rabbit Hole — located in Louisville, Kentucky.

In fact, this release also marks the first casks to be made available on the French market by both Smooth Ambler. 

The Young American Craft Whisky Movement

Founded respectively in 2009 by John Little and 2012 by Kaveh Zamanian, Smooth Ambler and Rabbit Hole were bought by the Pernod Ricard group one after another in 2016 and 2019. Both belong to the American craft whiskey movement, where they quickly drew attention due to their fun and mischievous names, with Smooth Ambler echoing a horse’s peaceful amble and Rabbit Hole referencing the rabbit hole Alice falls into in Carroll’s famous work, discovering at the end of a long drop a world at the antipodes of her own, ruled by the strange and the absurd.

LMDW suggested that these two niche whiskeys join La Distillerie Générale’s library of rare spirits, with two single barrels boasting a similar percentage of maize and a high percentage of rye that reflect the dizzying ascent of craft bourbons with intense aroma profiles.

Smooth Ambler 6 YO 2016 Single Barrel Bourbon - 59% ABV

35cl Single Cask #2956 (An LMDW exclusive)

Produced with 71% maize, 21% rye and 8% malted barley, this bourbon distilled in a Vendôme style column still was matured at the Cove Creek site in West Virginia at an altitude of 700 m. More introverted than the Rabbit Hole, Smooth Ambler has a power of seduction that combines both exuberance and discretion. Dressed in very beautiful autumnal tones, the palette of flavours and aromas is a succession of tertiary sequences whose fruity, floral, chocolatey and rich nuances mix harmoniously with extremely delicate woody notes.

This is a limited edition of 434 bottles.

Rabbit Hole 4 YO 2017 Single Barrel Bourbon - 54.2% ABV

35cl Single Cask #17K24/4 (An LMDW exclusive)

Just like the Smooth Ambler Rye Bourbon, this Rabbit Hole High Rye perfectly embodies the artisanal nature of the craft movement that has, in recent years, revolutionised the world of American whiskey. Produced with 70% maize, 25% rye and 5% malted barley, this version boasts a depth and complexity that begs admiration. Beaming with luminosity and especially expressive, with expert precision it invites the taster to discover sequence after sequence of continually repeating floral, spicy, fruity and cereal tones. 

This is a limited edition of 400 bottles.

@CharsiuCharlie