Heaven’s Door Bootleg Vol. IV: 11 Year Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Finished in Islay Scotch Casks

Bootleg Series Vol. IV is an 11 year wheated straight bourbon finished in Islay Scotch casks and bottled at 111 proof. Wheated bourbon is the soft end of the category, rounder and sweeter than a rye-forward mash bill, and Islay casks are the opposite, all peat smoke, brine and iodine, the loudest wood in whiskey. Putting one inside the other should flatten the bourbon, and on younger liquid it would, but eleven years of oak gave this one enough body to hold its shape, so the smoke sits over the sweetness instead of erasing it.

Details
Size: 750ml
Age: 11 years
Proof: 111 (55.5% ABV)
Finish: Islay Scotch casks
Fewer than 5,000 bottles. Hand-finished ceramic decanter carrying Bob Dylan's Lighthouse in Maine, 2017, presented in a leather-bound book case.

Tasting Notes
Nose: Toasted marshmallow, sandalwood, sugar plums, marzipan, creamed corn
Palate: Winter campfire, mesquite barbecue, leather, pipe tobacco, cedar
Finish: Smoke over wheated sweetness, long