Heaven's Door Exploration Series #1

Hello Distiller friends. I've not reviewed a whiskey in quite some time. It feels good to make my return with the first in what appears to be a limited release series from Heaven's Door. I'm always a bit weary of limited edition Heavens Door releases. Looking at my past review history of their products, it seems that at best they are a "better than average" distillery. The nose on this one is overrun by sightly tannic charred oak. There's also some spicy cinnamon and brown sugar in there as well as a faint hint of fruit. Perhaps candied apples? The palate begins sweet and innocently enough but opens up to a world of spice. For just a split second, the taste begins with some sweet and yeasty cinnamon breakfast claw pastry but is quickly cancelled out by a tongue tingling cinnamon explosion. The back of the taste is quite dry, with leather and more of that slightly charred oak from the nose. The finish carries the dry, tannic qualities of the back of the taste through. There may be a little hint of apple in there but its hard to taste past leather, charred oak and peppercorns. This is a hell of a lot drier and spicier than I would prefer a bourbon to be but its different at least.