Today’s whiskey review, Blackened Whiskey, was pioneered by the late great Dave Pickerell of Maker’s Mark and Whistle Pig fame. He partnered with super-band Metallica to finish and market the whiskey. The spirit is a mix of bourbon and rye whiskeys that get finished in black brandy casks and that’s where Metallica enters the picture. Using their proprietary “sonic-enhancement” system, dubbed Black Noise, they use Metallica’s sound to pummel the whiskey “causing it to seep deeper into the barrel”.
Since Dave’s passing Rob Dietrich from Stranahan’s has taken over as “Master Distiller” and will be overseeing both the existing process and the creation of new whiskeys and releases as they come out. Which is both awesome and surprising. I wouldn’t have imagined Rob leaving Stranahan’s nor would I have seen Blackened as more than a one-off product. But here we are in 2020 with both Rob and Blackened and I’m intensely interested to see where it goes.
Blackened Whiskey Review: Details and Tasting Notes
“BLACKENED™ is a marriage of the finest bourbons & ryes, hand selected by Dave himself. Each of the whiskeys offer unique flavor that play a key role in the final spirit. Predominantly bourbon, the sweetness of BLACKENED™ is paired perfectly with the savory spice offered by the rye.”
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: USA
Distillers: Undisclosed (likely MGP for bourbon and Alberta for rye)
Mash Bill: Mix of Bourbon and Rye whiskey
Cask: New Charred Oak, ex-Black Brandy Casks
Age: NAS
ABV: 45%
Batch: 097
Price: $45*
Tasting Notes
EYE
Amber
NOSE
Plum, golden raisins, brown sugar, oak, vanilla, baking spice and a tad biscuity.
PALATE
Brown sugar, molasses, plum, golden raisins, brown sugar, oak, vanilla, baking spice and a tad biscuity.
FINISH
Medium-long -> Cognac, corn whiskey and butterscotch.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, medium body and a soft touch that’s a tad oily.
Blackened Whiskey Review: Overall and Score
Unique with well-balanced cognac and whiskey notes. Aroma is sweet and the grapey brandy notes are readily apparent with the whiskey notes coming through on the lighter side; Palate is a bit darker with more of the dark sweetness coming through along the lines of brown sugar and molasses with the whiskey notes kicking up heavily right before the finish; Finish starts out as cognac and moves to whiskey then fades sweet and butterscotchy.
The cognac does edge out the whiskey a bit but it doesn’t overpower the bourbon notes which leaves the Blackened Whiskey feeling clean and mostly balanced. It slowly gets sweeter as it opens but never gets cloying with the rustic, whiskey-driven, spice and grain and oak notes keeping things in check. A decent sipper.
SCORE: 3/5
*Disclosure: The bottle for this whiskey review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Blackened Whiskey $35
Blackened Whiskey Review Summary
Not a bad whiskey, could easily sip this anytime and be alright with it, but where it seems to shine is in cocktails. I made an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan (the go-to whiskey testing cocktails) and it worked incredibly well. Its inherent sweetness lends to using less sugar/simple syrup in the Old Fashioned and moving to dry Vermouth in the Manhattan.
Overall
- Nose
- Palate
- Finish
- BBF
User Review
( votes)( reviews)
A friend has purchased Blackened about 2 yrs ago, I believe it was from batch 41. It definitely tasted like what we thought it should have, there was a great blend of wood and spice taste to it, much worth it’s weight in gold. Then recently we purchased a bottle from batch 120….. It was almost worse than drinking, I believe he compared it to Johnny Walker. It would surely help to stick with a more consistent blend or recipe. The last bottle was quite disappointing, I smelled it and that’s as far as it got….
Blackened Doesn't Come Close to What it Promises
I liked what I heard about this whiskey before I tried it. Upon actually tasting it, I was unimpressed. Nothing really stood out to me about the smell or the taste. Reading the bottle I found out why, because it’s a “blend”. Reading this article, I realized what I must have missed or it didn’t say on the bottle, that it was a blend of ryes and bourbons, which is probably why it just tasted muddled to me.
Over the years I’ve grown to love bourbons and ryes, as much as any wine I’ve ever tasted. So every bourbon and rye I’ve never seen before becomes a new taste test. Blackened ranks pretty easily in the bottom quarter of all the bourbons and ryes I’ve ever tasted. It certainly isn’t terrible, but it certainly isn’t “good”.
Bottom line, Blackened is heavily over-hyped. It doesn’t come close to what it promises.
It varies quite a bit from batch to batch I’ve noticed.
Noooopppee
Almost as gross as gold bar … you should have called it Nabster 2.0 so I can sue your ass for robbing me
Badass
Go METTALICA…GO BLACKENED!!!
An excellant whiskey! I normally drink woodford reserve or Crown Black, which has been my favorite, up to now. We have a new champ…just like Mettalicas music…BLACKENED is in a league of its own!