Heaven’s Door Tennessee Bourbon Review

A straight whiskey sourced from Tennessee, the Heaven’s Door Tennessee Bourbon is an interesting release and a bit of a mystery. It carries a 70% Corn mash bill, which eliminates the usual culprit of George Dickel. True they could have contract distilled with a different mash through GD, but it’s been aged for 8 years and Dylan’s company was formed in 2015 ( 4 years ago as of writing this).

Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon

Searching the internet for mash bills, the only one I found in Tennessee that fits the bill is Davidson Reserve from Pennington Distilling Co. who sports a mash of 70% Corn, 25% Rye and 5% Malted Barley. They were founded in 2011 and with the first release of Heaven’s Door bourbon being “aged for almost seven years” and the current being 8 years the timeline does match up… barely.

BUT for them to be the source it would mean Pennington had to be sitting on a large cache of early barrels and Dylan & Co. bought them all. There is no mention of the Lincoln County Process so Prichard’s could also be a suspect, but I couldn’t find their mash bill anywhere. That’s a lot of speculation, but the real test is how it smells and tastes, which we’ll get into right now in the Tennessee Bourbon review below.

Heaven’s Door Tennessee Bourbon Review: Details and Tasting Notes

In Heaven’s Door’s Words:

A unique mash bill from Tennessee, the Heaven’s Door Tennessee Straight Bourbon utilizes 30% “small grains” to complement the character imparted from spending a minimum of 8 years in American oak barrels. The result is smooth and lasting with notes of vanilla and baked bread layered over a bed of toasted oak.

Heaven's Door Bourbon Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Region: Tennessee, USA

Distiller: Unknown
Bottler: Heaven’s Door
Mash Bill: 70% Corn + 30% Rye & Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: 8 Years
ABV: 45%

Price: $50*

Tasting Notes

EYE
Dark copper

NOSE
Dark fruit, Strawberry Necco, Oak, Vanilla, baking spice, honey and dried corn with a bit of powdered sugar.

PALATE
Caramel, biscuits, dried corn, freeze dried strawberries, grain, oak, vanilla and notes of spice, cocoa and peanuts.

FINISH
Medium -> Corn, vanilla, caramel and oak.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium body and a light feel.

It has an incredible nose and an average palate. Not wild about it, but not disappointed by it either.

Heaven’s Door Tennessee Bourbon Review: Overall and Score

It comes through a bit on the light side, but it’s definitely not watery or weak. The Aroma is a bit reminiscent of George Dickel, but not dead on, it’s mostly that soft musty corn and vanilla essence that gets me thinking… maybe; Palate is not as complex as the aroma but it’s still lovely and pulls in a bit more of that dried corn profile; Finish is soft and fades out oaky.

The aroma is the best part of this whiskey hands down, the palate ain’t shabby, but the aroma is so much more enticing and interesting. I get a suggestion of Dickel in here, but it’s not fully there. Sipping on some Dickel 12 and Dickel 08 as side-by-side references, the similarities to the house style are undeniable – but so are the differences.

True, the differences could be due to barrel selection, but when you take into consideration the 70% corn mash bill (GD’s is 84%) it’s likely it’s not them. Either way, it’s a fun tasty whiskey and I’m going to enjoy sharing and sipping through this bottle.

SCORE: 86/100 (B)