BY MARIA SCINTO
New year, new you, right? Okay, by mid-January a bit of the luster has worn off those shiny new resolutions. In fact, National Today says that January 17 is actually the official Ditch New Year's Resolution Day. Still, even if all your grand plans to walk 5 miles a day, save half your paycheck, and subside off nothing but kale, quinoa, and spring water have come to naught, that doesn't mean you can't make some revised resolutions that will be both easier and more fun to follow. Like, how about you simply resolve to try a few new things? This is hardly likely to hurt, particularly if you choose things you already enjoy, such as sampling a few new bourbons.
Heaven's Door Master Blender's Edition
If you're a fan of limited-release top shelf bourbons as well as millenium-spanning folk-rock icons, then have we got a whiskey for you: Heaven's Door Master Blender's Edition! Okay, so there's something just a teensy bit creepy about naming a booze brand after a Bob Dylan song with a title that's a euphemism for dying (via YouTube). Dylan does own the distillery, though, and presumably drinks the whiskey as well, and he's still knock-knock-knockin' right along in his 80th year. By all accounts, the man is quite the whiskey aficionado, so he's not going to attach his name to any old plonk. While not all celebrity-branded booze lives up to the hype, Heaven's Door Master Blender's Edition seems to be well worth the price. You can still pick up a bottle for around $100, which is not bad at all considering its striking Dylan-designed artwork.
Heaven's Door Master Blender's Edition is a 100-proof 10-year bourbon that has been finished off in a sherry cask. The Whiskey Wash says this bourbon won 2 gold medals at last year's World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, and they did not disagree with the judges. They found this whiskey to be, while not overly complex, sweet and very enjoyable. While most of its flavors are on the sugary side –- caramel, oatmeal raisin cookies, and white chocolate –- there's also a hint of tobacco that helps to balance things out.
