Brown sugar | Cinnamon poached apples | Cinnamon stick | Baking spices | Light oak | Heavy baking scents

Cinnamon powder | Breakfast pastry | Vanilla frosting | Charred oak | Peppercorn | Light leather | Hint of tobacco leaf

Light apple | Dry cinnamon powder | Light oak | Touch of leather | Green peppercorn spice | Dry

Heaven's Door Spirits is a collaboration between legendary artist Bob Dylan and Spirits Investment Partnership. Bob Dylan's first and only brand partnership, Heaven's Door is aimed to be an ever-evolving portfolio of handcrafted whiskeys. The Exploration Series is the brand's latest product extension, which will see the company producing two unique expressions under The Exploration Series name annually. The first expression is a Tennessee bourbon that was finished in Calvados casks, which the company states that for these barrels, “Calvados, an apple brandy from Normandy, France, matures for at least two years in the French oak casks before being filled with our Tennessee Bourbon.” Following the finishing for an undisclosed amount of time, the bourbon is then exposed to medium-heavy toasted French oak staves sourced from Quercus Petraea trees for an undisclosed amount of time before being blended and bottled.

Heaven's Door Bourbon Exploration Series 1 joins Whiskey Del Bac Normandie as one of the few whiskey brands utilizing Calvados barrels to finish their whiskey in. As would be expected, the bourbon is heavily influenced by the finishing barrels, which shine through right from the start. A soiree of baking scents kicks off the sip, along with a hearty dose of cinnamon-poached apples. The palate delivers similar sweet flavors up front before morphing into more traditional earthy flavors. These earthy flavors carry through in force, combining with a light apple up front to remind you of the bourbon’s finishing roots, but end things on a very dry spice note. Overall, this is a nice sip that highlights the influence of the Calvados barrel finishing well. However, I do wish the finish and the later half of the palate were able to deliver the same decadent experience that the first half of the sip established.