It works best if you think of it as a non sequitur, not (just) a commercial: A late-night talk-show host (The Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon) and one of the most decorated and enigmatic musicians alive (Bob Dylan) sit alone in a vast theater as Erik Satie plays in the background, sipping whiskey and watching approvingly as Big Apple Circus acrobats do their thing. For a couple minutes, it really does seem as simple as that — especially once Dylan disappears, having never said a word, leaving Fallon to wonder aloud whether it had all been a beautiful dream.
But then, once the bit has passed, we're left with Fallon at his host desk, reminding us that the normally talk-show-averse Dylan has attached his name to a new brand of whiskey — the very same product, it turns out, that the two had just consumed at the circus. So, you know, there you go: We've peeled back one of Dylan's many layers to reveal a deft and surprisingly game whiskey salesman.
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