A lot of the whiskey I've written up comes from the big-name distilleries and producers, and I've wanted to branch out a little more, take some risks with what I have. So I added some bottles from newer and seemingly popular distilleries to the giant whiskey list I keep in Google Docs. One name was Heaven's Door and for my birthday this year my wife picked one up for me. She went for the more premium single barrel, found at a little liquor store in the middle of nowhere I believe. Let's take a closer look.
Heaven's Door Whiskey has been available since 2018, it's pretty new. According to this VinePair article it all started in 2015 when Bob Dylan trademarked the term 'bootleg whiskey.' Yes, this is a celebrity spirit but it's a little more interesting and complicated than many of the all-too-numerous others out there. The trademark was a reference to bootleg recordings, of which Dylan has many. Anyway it seems Dylan was not solely responsible for the brand creation here, as he was approached with the idea for making whiskey by two industry professionals (one previously at Angel's Envy, the other from Diageo). Dylan signed on, became one of the co-founders and the theme is all about him.
The name is a callback to one of Dylan's most famous songs. Knockin' on Heaven's Door was written by him in 1973, if you weren't aware, and has been made increasingly well-known by covers like the one by Guns N'Roses. Apparently this caused a bit of a fuss. One of the big boy distilling companies in Kentucky, Heaven Hill, sued to stop Heaven's Door from using the name. They weren't successful. A much lesser known side of Dylan, who's also an ironwork artist, are central to how the bottles look. They show examples of his pieces, mostly welded metal gates of unusual design, and are pretty cool.
Up to now Heaven's Door has been entirely sourced whiskey, that's what you can see on shelves right now. A new distillery set to open early 2024 in Pleasureville, KY, north of the highway connecting Louisville and Lexington. They say they've been distilling already, 'producing small batches of exceptional bourbon on its custom Vendome still since 2018,' though I'm not sure what they've been doing with it. I assume, like all distilleries that get their own production facilities, they'll eventually roll out their own product to the general public, when it's ready of course.
Heaven's Door has a relatively small number of expressions. To be honest I'm a little confused about them, as the Heaven's Door website doesn't entirely line up with what's available at, for example, Total Wine. But their baseline straight Bourbon is from Tennessee, they have a 'Double Barrel' blend and a straight Rye. Then there's a single barrel version of the Bourbon, some special (the 'Bootleg series') and limited (the '10 year') releases. Most likely what's throwing me is some sort of brand evolution, and the 'Revival,' 'Revelation' and 'Refuge' names are just the newest versions of the whiskies they already had. The bottle I have is a store pick cask strength single barrel Bourbon, with a label that says 'Chosen by Us for You,' which makes me think an employee of the liquor store didn't pick this barrel, though it should still in theory be a choice selection.
Stats:
ABV - 61.2% (122.3 proof)
Mash - 70% corn, 22% rye, 8% barley
Maturation - new #4 charred oak
Age - at least 2 years, NAS
Location - Tennessee
Price - ~$65
Tasting Notes:
Nose - Boozy maple syrup?
Color - Fairly dark, slightly reddish
Taste - Somewhat sickly sweet (cherry?), some char and spice
Finish - Good burn, feels heavy and coats your throat
Final Thoughts:
This is like cough syrup, and once you get that you won't be able to taste much else. It's not great.
Overall I know this is a single barrel, there will be variation, and this is probably not their best. And sweeter Bourbons are not my thing (though how they got this flavor profile with 70% corn/22% rye I don't know). But I'm not all that interested in exploring this brand more. Sorry Mr. Zimmerman.
Comments