Heaven’s Door uses Islay casks for Bourbon
American whiskey brand Heaven’s Door, co-founded by Bob Dylan, has expanded its Bootleg Series with the release of an 11-year-old Bourbon finished in Islay whisky casks.
Dylan launched the Heaven’s Door brand in April 2018 in collaboration with Angel’s Envy Bourbon founder Marc Bushala. Heaven’s Door Spirits has released Bootleg Series Vol IV, an 11-year-old wheated Bourbon, as part of the brand's rare Bootleg whiskey range. The Bourbon spent almost a year in seasoned Scotch casks from Islay to impart peat notes. The resulting liquid offers a nose of toasted marshmallow, sandalwood, sugar plums, marzipan and creamed corn. The palate follows with hints of ‘winter campfire, mesquite barbecue, leather, piped tobacco, cedar and bone marrow’. The 55.5% ABV whiskey is housed in a leather case. The liquid sits in a handmade ceramic bottle featuring an oil painting by Dylan, titled Lighthouse in Maine (2017). The painting depicts Dylan’s travels across the US through backstreets, alleyways and country roads. Bootleg Vol IV is recommended served neat, on the rocks or with a splash of water. The whiskey is priced at US$499.99 and available to buy from the Heaven’s Door website and select retailers in the US. The release follows Bootleg Series Vol I (2019), Vol II (2020) and Vol III (2021), which have all quickly sold out, according to the brand. Some have sold for 10 times more than their retail price. In May last year, Heaven’s Door teamed up with Redbreast Irish whiskey to create The Master Blenders’ Edition. The brand launched in the UK and Ireland through a distribution deal with When We Are Giants in 2020. Heaven's Door is among the top five best-selling celebrity-backed whisky brands on US e-commerce platform Drizly to date.
