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Metallica’s Blackened Whiskey gets a limited ‘Cask Strength’ batch

It’s also gone through a ‘sonic-enhancement’ process involving exposing the whiskey to full-blast riffs.

Metallica's Whiskey

Image: Blackened Whiskey

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Blackened, the Whiskey collaboration from late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and Metallica is to receive a special limited ‘Cask Strength’ edition.

The announcement follows the release of last year’s concert film/album S&M2, which celebrated 20 years of the original collaboration between the metal band and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

The recording of S&M2 was used to sonically treat the whiskey in the proprietary ‘Black Noise’ process, which involves exposing the drink to the throb of full-volume Metallica. Every other batch of Blackened is exposed to a select playlist of Metallica tracks, with songs being hand-picked by band members.

The special run comes in at 110.7 proof rather than the standard 90 proof (55.35% ABV vs 45% ABV for those not in the US). The punchier strength is explained by Blackened’s master distiller/blender Rob Deitrich: “I’m excited to debut the first expression in our Cask Strength program with our fans and whiskey aficionados. Metallica packs a punch with their performances, which is epitomized with the S&M2 album release. The Cask Strength version offers Blackened in its purest form while emulating the powerhouse musicians behind it.”

The whiskey’s aroma is described as having notes of maple syrup, vanilla, almond, corn husk, white pepper, and cinnamon bark, while its flavour is described as a creamy almond, nougat and pear with a drying walnut, cinnamon and butterscotch finish.

The Cask Strength version will be available in a commemorative box featuring original, BLACKENED x S&M2 Squindo artwork to celebrate the use of the S&M2 playlist in the sonic enhancement process. Squindo has been working with Metallica since 1999 to create an assortment of graphics, from posters to tour merchandise. Find out more at blackenedwhiskey.com.

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