Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey
Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey is a 750mL straight rye bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV). Distilled in Indiana from a 95% rye mash and aged in new charred American oak, it is finished in toasted oak cigar barrels whose wood was air-dried in the low-lying mountain region of Vosges, France — the original rye from the Bob Dylan-backed brand's 2018 debut lineup. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 46% (92 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Mash bill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley
- Age: No age statement
- Finish: Toasted oak cigar barrels, air-dried in the Vosges mountains, France
- Launched: 2018 — one of the brand's three inaugural expressions
- Origin: Distilled in Indiana; finished in Vosges oak
The Rye That Crossed the Atlantic Twice
Heaven's Door launched in April 2018 as Bob Dylan's first and only consumer brand partnership, and this straight rye was there from the start. Its story is in the finish: the brand's proprietary finishing step rests the rye in elongated "cigar" barrels of toasted oak air-dried in France's Vosges region, a treatment the brand credits with making a high-rye whiskey smoother and more approachable. Each bottle carries one of Dylan's welded iron gates from his Black Buffalo Ironworks studio. Compare it with the Heaven's Door 10 Year Bourbon or see the range on the Heaven's Door vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Per the producer's notes: the Vosges finish yields a smoother, more approachable rye, with notes of orange peel, coriander and spice. Wine Enthusiast scored it 92 points (July 2019), finding it brisk, spicy and mouth-watering — clove, black pepper, cinnamon and lemon peel over coconut, chamomile and cedar.
How to Enjoy
Pour it neat to taste what the Vosges oak does to a 95% rye, or let it drive a Manhattan where the spice stays in charge. More rye whiskeys are gathered alongside our bourbon whiskey collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Heaven's Door Straight Rye distilled?
The rye is sourced Indiana whiskey — the classic 95% rye / 5% malted barley recipe — bottled under the Heaven's Door name. The brand is Tennessee-based, but the rye itself is an Indiana distillate finished in French Vosges oak cigar barrels.
What is a cigar barrel?
An elongated, cigar-shaped oak barrel. Heaven's Door finishes this rye in toasted cigar barrels made from oak air-dried in the Vosges mountains of France — one account of the brand's process gives the air-drying as three years — for a smoother, more approachable finish.
Is this the same as Heaven's Door Refuge?
No. Refuge is the brand's 2023 successor rye — a 100% rye whiskey finished in Amontillado sherry casks. This bottling is the original Vosges-oak-finished rye from the 2018 lineup.
Indiana rye, French oak, Dylan ironwork — order Heaven's Door Straight Rye online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.