American whiskeys are also known as bourbon which is a close relative of Scotch whisky (note the lack of an “e” in the European spelling of whisky).
It is distilled within the USA using a minimum of 51% corn, malted barley, rye, and wheat as mandated by the US Government.
Heaven’s Door Whiskey will bring back memories of years gone by when a certain musician named Bob Dylan sang the folk song Knocking On Heavens Door. It is no surprise then that Bob Dylan is the brains behind the Heavens Door brand.
As a great storyteller, Bob Dylan said about Heaven’s Door whiskey “I wanted to create a collection of American Whiskeys that, in their own way, tell a story, I’ve been traveling for decades, and I’ve been able to try some of the best whiskey spirits that the world has to offer. This is great whiskey.”
The brand has not disappointed.
There is a wide variety of whiskeys being sold under the brand and occasionally a special edition is released to the market to build an ever-increasing brand.
Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Heaven’s Door Straight Bourbon Whiskey is produced and aged in Tennessee. The distillation and aging process takes a minimum of 6 years.
Its sour mash distillation uses a non-chilled process as does the bottling process. This results in a consistent flavor across all bottles in a batch.
Heaven’s Door Straight Bourbon Whiskey offers a beautiful nose of baked bread, dried fruit, and buttered popcorn with a smooth lasting finish of caramel, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Supplementing the nose is palate likened to honey, light maple, pumpernickel, white peppercorn, and baking spices. Vanilla layered over a bed of toasted oak. Caramel with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.
It is a reasonably strong alcoholic refreshment at 92 proof or 46% alcohol by volume (ABV)
You can budget around $50.00 for this entry-level Heaven’s Door Bourbon.
Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey
Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey contains a distinctive intermingling of three different whiskeys. Two of these whiskeys are products of the state of Tennessee. The first whiskey is a traditional bourbon mash bill while the second is a straight rye whiskey.
Each whiskey used in the blend is aged separately in new oak and freshly dumped bourbon barrels. The aging process takes a minimum of 6 years. Thereafter they are blended and aged for another year in virgin, heavy charred, American oak barrels.
The heavy charred, American oak barrels create a smooth bourbon with a rich flavor and a darkened appearance.
To provide a smooth finished product the bottling proof is increased to 100 proof or 50% ABV
The nose of Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey presents a Maple with milled grains combined with a light nuttiness. Dried berries, vanilla custard, and toasted oak.
Complementing the nose the palate of the Double Barrel Whiskey is that of Toasted Caramel, fried dough, dark cherry, and Meyer lemon. Dry oak, vanilla bean, dried apricot, crème caramel. Coconut is backed by orange oils and cocoa. Warm butterscotch with woody overtones.
The Heaven’s Door Double Barrel Whiskey is priced competitively within the wider range selling at around $50.00 per bottle.
Heaven’s Door Straight Rye Whiskey
Straight Rye Whiskey is slightly different in that it is aged in toasted oak cigar barrels which have been air dried for 3 years in the low-lying mountainous region of Vosges, France.
This exclusive finishing process produces smoother and approachable rye containing notes of orange peel, coriander, and spice.
Unlike entry-level whiskeys, Heaven’s Door Straight Rye Whiskey is aged for seven years in new, charred American oak barrels.
The change of barrels produces an herbaceous nose, apple, citrus, spearmint, and oak.
The taste of the Straight Rye Whiskey reminds one of honey-coated marzipan, fresh-cut grass, fennel, and dill. Clove, cinnamon, black pepper, and orange peel. Chamomile and cedar. Vanilla toffee, wet wood, chocolate cookies, a hint of mango, and a dash of white pepper.
The end product is 92 proof or 46% ABV.
As can be expected this unique product is more expensive coming in at approximately $80.00 per bottle.
Heaven’s Door Whiskey – Limited Releases
As explained earlier, Heaven’s Door produces limited editions to provide a bigger variety of whiskeys. Limited editions offer the connoisseur the opportunity to add a great whiskey to their collection.
Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is an annual release made from Heaven’s Door whiskey and distilled barrels from partnering whiskey makers.
Proof Range from 108 to 127 with a maximum of 145 barrels on offer selling for around $55 per bottle
Decade Series Release #01: 10-Year Straight Bourbon
Heaven’s Door Decade Series is true to its name containing whiskey that has aged for a minimum of 10 years
This cutting-edge is a recent addition to the range offering a collection of premium whiskeys produced with care as a labor of dedication that requires patience over a decade.
This unique limited-release sells for around $95 per bottle
Heaven’s Door Whiskey – Past Releases
Master Blender’s Edition
The Master Blenders’ Edition is a product of cooperation between the master blenders of Heaven‘s Door and Redbreast Irish Whiskey.
It comprises Heaven’s Door 10-year aged Straight Bourbon aged for 15 months in Redbreast’s signature Single Pot Still Casks. This creates a unique flavor from single-pot Irish whiskey and formerly Spanish sherry.
The final product provides a taste profile of nuts, spice, and leather, while the cherry taste comes to the fore, citrus, dark fruit, and the subtle sweetness of Yellow Man from the Redbreast casks.
Bottled at 50% ABV the product is available for a mere $100 per bottle.
Highway 61 Blend
The Highway 61 Blend is a blend of straight whiskeys selected and blended producing the perfect recipe of small-batch bourbon and rye whiskeys.
A selection of 5 barrels was used in the creation of Highway 61 Blend where Heaven’s Door decided on how much of each barrel is blended to produce the end product which consists of 80% Bourbon and 20% Rye.
Alcohol by volume is 46.8% in the 240 bottles that were released for sale.
If you are lucky enough to get one of these bottles be prepared to pay a minimum of $60 at which they originally retailed.
The Bootleg Series
A favorite of Heaven’s Door is their Bootleg Series which was named after Bob Dylan’s “Bootleg Series” of albums.
It is released annually in a ceramic bottle featuring a painting from Bob Dylan’s collection stored in a personalized numbered leather case which adds to the exclusivity.
In 2021 the third release of the Bootleg Series featured a 13-year-old Kentucky Bourbon aged in Vino de Naranja casks and finally bottled at cask strength with a proof of 121.2.
The taste is subtly sweet as a result of the aging in orange wine casks and the color is rich bourbon.
You can expect to pay about $1 / ml for a 750 ml bottle crunching your budget by $750.
FAQ’s
Who owns Heaven’s Door Whiskey?
Owning a unique branded product is a favorite pastime of the rich and famous.
As a well-respected storyteller and musician, Bob Dylan is at the head of Heaven’s Door Whiskeys. Understandably, Dylan used one of his best-selling song titles in the name of his whiskey.
Bob Dylan plays an active role in the company designing the ironworks that is pictured on every bottle.
Partners of Heavens Door Whiskey include Bob Dylan, Marc Bushala founder of Spirits Investment Partners (SIP), and Ryan Perry a whiskey developer at Diageo.
Where is Heaven’s Door Whiskey made?
Heaven’s Door Whiskeys are distilled and aged in single-story warehouses located in Tennessee, USA. The minimum period of aging is 6 years but it is growing as the company itself grows and stays in business.
How to Drink Heaven’s Door Whiskey?
Tender Loving Care goes into the production of every bottle of Heaven’s Door Whiskey to produce a smooth whiskey that is remarkably drinkable.
It is common to see whiskey lovers drink it neat or on the rocks cooling it on ice.
If you are not taken by drinking it needs or on the rocks, you can add some water to dilute it thus reducing the burn associated with a neat drink.
Water may aid in releasing some additional flavors adding to the enjoyment of the experience.
