With all the new celebrity whiskies announced just in the past few months, it’s easy to forget that Blackened - a collaboration between Dave Pickerell and Metallica - was one of the earlier and, frankly, more interesting of the crop.

The original Blackened takes American whiskey, finishes it in black brandy casks, and subjects it to Blackened’s patented Black Noise process, by which the band’s music is pumped through the barrels at low hertz frequencies. The idea is simple and intriguing: does sonic vibration change the flavor and character of the whiskey? I’m a believer at a scientific level if for no other reason than sonic vibration would cause the whiskey to interact with the wood more…my hesitation is that with the brandy finishing, it’s another variable to consider and as such I don’t know where the brandy finish ends and the sonic influence begins.

Anyway….it’s been a few years since we lost Dave Pickerell and Rob Dietrich assumed his responsibilities at Blackened. Rob took a year or two to get situated but has since expanded the lineup to include regional editions (I have one of the Empire State ones because duh) and a cask strength version. Where these new expressions are variations on a theme (and pretty good ones at that), this collaboration breaks totally new ground.

Rob worked hand-in-hand with Willett Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen, taking barrels of Willett rye ranging from six and a half years old to eight years old and including both low-rye and high-rye mashbills. The blend was then put into Madeira casks rather than Blackened’s classic black brandy casks and subjected to the Black Noise process for fourteen weeks.

The result is something different and better than I expected (though I tasted this blind, so there was no ‘expectation’ in the tasting notes). There are some black cherry notes I consistently get with Blackened products, but since this isn’t their whiskey being used it must be there from something else. The most surprising part was the abundance of tropical fruit: guava, papaya, sweet and slightly savory grilled fruits and vegetables all appear around the nose and palate. You know how important mouthfeel is to me, and this had it in spades, with the fruits and sweet notes controlling the oak astringency until the end of the pour.

In case you were wondering, here is the playlist:

For Whom The Bell Tolls
Master of Puppets
King Nothing
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Dyers Eve (Remastered)
Broken, Beat & Scarred
The Thing That Should Not Be
Atlas, Rise!
Of Wolf and Man
One (Remastered)
Enter Sandman

I’m not sure if I’d go out to hunt a bottle with the MSRP at $139.99, but it’s worth trying if you have the chance. Thank you to my friend Mike over at The Bourbon Culture for the sample!

Blackened x Willett Cask Strength Rye Finished in Madeira Casks: Specs

Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Origin: Rye from Willett Distillery, Produced by Blackened

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Proof: 109.6 (54.8% ABV)

Age: NAS (6.5-8 Year Old Rye according to the press release)

Location: Mineville, NY

Blackened x Willett Cask Strength Rye Finished in Madeira Casks Price: $139.99

Official Website

Blackened x Willett Cask Strength Rye Finished in Madeira Casks Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Brand new pennies. Thin rims, broad droplets.

Nose: Tropical fruits, fresh and dried, like opening a fruit cocktail can. Savory notes of grilled and charred sweet vegetables. Dried cherries and an oaky backbone.

Palate: Guava and papaya with hints of bubblegum and cherry candies. Incredibly fruity. Oaky wood starts working its way in. Mouthfeel is full and creamy, coating and oily. Really gets under the tongue and grabs on tightly. Oak astringency builds with fresh cherries.

Finish: The astringency grabs my tongue and won’t let go. Cherries eventually take over on a medium-length finish.

Overall: Nose and palate/finish are more different than I thought they’d be, with only the cherry note connecting the whole. The proof is barely there behind the oak, making this an easy drinker for its proof. Fantastic mouthfeel before the astringency takes hold.

Final Rating: 7.4

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)