Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.

The legacy of Bob Dylan lives on through more than Heaven’s Door Spirits, but the specialty distillery, founded by Dylan in collaboration with Spirits Investment Partnership, offers a bevy of thoughtful and complex whiskeys that, with the right porch swing and album on the turntable, can transport the drinker to another time.

With Heaven’s Door “Homesick Blues” Minnesota Wheated Bourbon, co-founder and CEO Marc Bushala says, “We are thrilled to introduce ‘Homesick Blues,’ a heartfelt tribute to Bob Dylan’s Minnesota roots and his journey to find home. This unique limited release expression stays true to Dylan’s desire to create a collection of whiskeys which each tell their own story.” This is done through careful curation and intentional aging for seven years in extreme fluctuations within Minnesota’s North County, where the temperatures swing from the highest highs (upwards of 116° F) to the lowest country lows (-80° F, terrifying), giving a breadth of character to the whiskey that simply can’t be imitated.

This expression coincides with the release of the newest book commemorating Dylan titled Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine, a tome containing photos, song lyrics, and personal notes, a collection that celebrates the living icon. It’s not always easy to catch an incredible talent and influence like Dylan while still living, too often it’s posthumously that we show our appreciation for our musical and literary heroes, and it’s amazing to see continued appreciation and creativity produced in the name of and gratitude for an artist.

The whiskey itself gives me everything a Dylan song does; earthiness, a grounding effervescence, a bit of heat that gives way to a musty, sweaty finish. The wheated bourbon is high proof but doesn’t lose its flavor profile to one-dimensional heat.

Heaven’s Door “Homesick Blues” Minnesota Wheated Bourbon can be found on the Heaven’s Door website, available both in individual sales (SRP $79.99) as well as the perfect gift, the limited-edition book bundle ($149.99), with the first 100 orders receiving a 1^st Edition version of Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine.

Aesthetic:

The whiskey is a rich, clear, copper color with long legs.

Aroma:

Subtlety resonates at first, opening up to earthy, clay notes. There’s aspects of fruit that meld perfectly with the earthiness, with elements of lemon and persimmon, a great balance of bitterness that cuts the sweetness of the nose.

Palate:

Right off the bat, there’s a strong, wasabi-like heat – that 122.7 Proof really showing its teeth – but the heat doesn’t overpower or burn out the palate. Instead, there’s a sweet, dried fruit flavor that cools, working like a dimmer to a powerful light. The wheat is clear and pleasant, and the whiskey has a silky mouthfeel with a nice, long finish.

Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃.5/5

Suggested Cocktail:

Try it neat, on a porch, listening to Bob Dylan.

**This whiskey was provided as a review sample by those who created and released it. My reviews are my own, and I tell it how I taste it.**