Heaven's Door Double Barrel Whiskey

Rating: 14/23 I'm kind of excited about this one because it's 50% ABV and carries a 7 year age statement. That's about what Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, possibly the pinnacle of (actually available) Tennesse whiskey, is rumored to be. On the other hand, the flavors in Heaven's Door Tennessee bourbon were subtle, so I fear that this will flatten them with the finishing barrel on top of the mild distillate. N: Sweet! A caramely banana, corn scent permeates this. It's a bit heavier on the banana (less green) than Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, but it isn't overwhelming. There's some substantial woodiness with tannins and spices underneath the sweetness. I think there's vanilla, but it's registering to me a little like bubblegum. A possible hint of oily orange peel. P: Woody and sweet. A bit of over-oaked bitterness from the wood that maybe shouldn't be there, but some of the wood's bitterness definitely helps to restrain the sweetness. There's plenty of barrel spice as well - cinnamon, ginger, clove. I do actually get a substantial (though not overwhelming) amount of the oily orange flavor. It really makes me thing of curacao. Faint chocolate at times and a touch of smoke. A little mature complexity from the wood, but there really isn't much of that. There's something bitter and herbal here. It makes me think of Fernet Branca a bit actually. Maybe that's what I was blaming on over-oaking and really it's just some nice herbal complexity. Oh, there's definitely some white pepper. A bit of that corn character comes out at times, adding a bit of richness to the light caramel. This doesn't have the most rounded profile out there and it definitely has a couple of sharp edges, but it generally comes together fairly well. This has a fullness about on the level of Buffalo Trace. The Buffalo Trace has a more mature and balanced profile with layers coming out of the wood and a clearer vanilla character, but this has kind of that interesting herbal side to it giving it a bit more boldness. F: Bitter harbaceousness with licorice and mint. A touch of orange underneath some light caramel sweetness with faint corn - Conclusion - I think that this is about on par with Buffalo Trace. Their styles are half quite similar and then they go in very different directions. This also reminds me a bit of Elijah Craig Small Batch (15/23). I always think that Elijah Craig Small Batch tastes a little tannic like it's slightly over-oaked, but this is actually more bitter. I find that the Elijah Craig tastes more mature, but this does have that interesting herbal character to it. I would take the Elijah Craig, but the gap between the two is not as large as I'd thought it would be. Going a funkier route, Wild Turkey 101 (14/23) has the complexity to go toe-to-tow with this and has a lot of interesting character to it. The Wild Turkey's added fruity layer is pretty nice, but it's alcohol really does show through more. This on the other hand has some youthful sweetness and that big bitter note. It's a tough call between the two. I did think that a 13 seemed a little low for this though and a 15 seems a little high, so I guess a 14 is appropriate. This is definitely trough around the edges, but it's still pretty approachable and it has some personality.

Candy Corn Aroma. Both literally & figuratively. Sweet corn but also the candy. A touch of spice and mint in the Aroma as well. Initial bitterness and oak gives way to a rush of sweetness. I get the young bourbon flavor here. More mint and a touch of menthol on the finish. Will be interesting to see what a few drops of water do as it's quite spicy and full out of the shoot. Aroma goes pine and mint with the water added. Wow, more oily full blast of spice now and cinnamon red hot. Definitely more complex and improved. I do have to say it has a Tennessee Whiskey note to it. Lincoln County process that I'm not a huge fan of.

An intense, American Whiskey by Bob Dylan & Marc Bushala founders of Heaven's Door Spirits in Tennessee made from a blend of three very different Whiskeys & then finish the blend in new toasted oak for nearly another year. It has an aromatic birth with notes of Cracker Jacks, dried berries, marzipan, vanilla custard & a hint of toasted oak; while a warm & spicy life adds notes of butterscotch, baking spices, dark chocolate & plenty of wood; that led to a rich death of medium length with notes of shortbread biscuits. July 2020 / August 2022

First impressions where a light easy to drink whiskey. After letting the bottle sit open about a month some new flavors have come out. On the. Nose I get charred oak and peanut, with a hint of vanilla. On the palate I get a fruity sweetness like apricot and brown sugar, then barrel char and spice come through. On the back end rye spice is the pronounced flavor and some Carmel comes through the finish is medium with a nice slow burn. All in all not to bad for the price like most whiskey it benefits from air in the bottle.

Doughy cinnamon rolls, cherry, and vanilla on the nose. Cinnamon roll carries over to the palate. I get a little butterscotch. There’s some oak tannins as well. The finish is medium long and full of cinnamon. This is a nice whiskey. It feels a little thin. The flavors are good but I was hoping for something more. There are better bourbons for this price point. EDIT: I’m nearly finished with this bottle. I tried to make the most of it but I’m having to mix it just to get through it. Just not good.

Very pleasant nose, sweet with vanilla, toffee, oak and caramel. Taste comes in a bit spicy, it’s tough to pick out some of the flavors initially but the finish tones down the spice slightly and you can make out some oak, cigarettes, and leather, doesn’t match the nose to me. I’m not sure where I land on this one, want to revisit, might need to let this one sit for a bit longer before tasting.