Blackened

Originally launched in 2018 as a collaboration between Metallica and Master Distiller and blender Dave Pickerell, who was considered one of the founding fathers of modern Bourbon, having spent many years at Maker's Mark. Sadly Dave died shortly after the launch at the age of 62, to be replaced with Rob Dietrich - although Dave signature is still shown on the front of the bottle.

The 'standard' Blackened whiskey is a blending of spirits sourced from various distilleries that are married in 'black brandy' barrels - a term coined by Pickerell which are actually Spanish brandy casks. To increase the motion of the whiskey inside the barrels, increasing the interaction between spirit and wood, the barrels are subject to a process dubbed 'Black Noise' - basically Metallica and other metal songs are played at a low frequency to the barrels with the sound waves generating motion.

There's a lovely sweetness throughout the spirit, with distinct hints of raisins and sultanas that seems to be a clear indication of those brandy casks being used. Although this is on the sweeter side, there's still a nice spicy bite of chilli falkes and cracked black pepper on on the finish, making this a particularly good whiskey to use in an Old Fashioned. Just try not to spill it while headbanging to 'Enter Sandman' or 'Frayed Ends of Sanity'!