Today, Blackened American Whiskey unveils its new “Masters of Whiskey Series” with the inaugural release, BLACKENED x Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Madeira Casks. The expression is a result of the collaboration of two of today’s most innovative distillers, Rob Dietrich of BLACKENED and Drew Kulsveen of Willett Distillery.
The BLACKENED x Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Madeira Casks starts with a base of low rye and high rye whiskey recipes that were hand-picked by Rob Dietrich and Willett Distillery’s Master Distiller, Drew Kulsveen, from the Willett Family Estate Reserve Selection. The two tasted and experimented with a number of whiskeys before landing on the recipes that would create the perfect flavor profile. Aged for an average of 6.5 years in white American oak casks, the complexity of the whiskey balances perfectly, gracing the nose with hints of sweet rhubarb, brown sugar, corn husk, cigar box, and vanilla. The first sip liberates the palate with notes of buttery caramel, earthy mint, and fresh-cut hay, rolling into a superb finish with vanilla, cinnamon butter, and dark walnut.
After the rye whiskeys are married together, they are finished in Madeira casks for up to 14 weeks. Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira islands and receives its unique taste from repeatedly heating the wine. The casks impart subtle dark fruit notes, overtones of honey, and slightly sweeter flavors of caramel and cinnamon that pair perfectly with the spicier notes of the rye. The expression is bottled at cask strength.
During finishing, the whiskey undergoes the proprietary BLACK NOISE™ sonic enhancement process in which the finishing barrels are pummeled by the low hertz frequencies of Metallica’s music. The sound waves visibly shake the finishing barrels, causing a greater interaction between the whiskey and the wood, thereby extracting more flavors and colors.
The 11-track playlist for the BLACK NOISE™ process was chosen by both Rob Dietrich and Drew Kulsveen and sequenced by Metallica Co-founder and Drummer, Lars Ulrich.
The full playlist includes:
- 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