Blackened x Willett Rye Madeira Finish Review

Blackened x Willett Rye is a project combining the resources and talents of three men: Drew Kulsveen, Rob Dietrich and Lars Ulrich. Drew provided the whiskey (combination of high rye and low rye whiskeys), Rob supplied the finishing process (wine barrels and “Black Noise”), and Lars sequenced a unique playlist, chosen by Rob and Drew, to be blasted through the proprietary Black Noise setup. It’s the first release in their new “Masters of Whiskey Series”.

On the surface, I like this a lot. Not because of any of the individual components, but because it’s awesome to see distilleries and producers working together like this and both putting a stake and a name on the product. I love seeing this kind of unique collaboration to bring something new to the market. The only thing, on the surface, I don’t like about it is some of the marketing.

To some, proper naming might be minor, but to the nerds who spend our time digging deep into the laws governing our favorite spirits, it’s a big deal. So, I have to call out that this is NOT a straight rye as stated over-and-over in the press releases and marketing which simply label this as “BLACKENED x Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey”. It’s finished in Madeira casks, which immediately disqualifies it from being a straight rye.

To the credit of the label, it does carry the full designation/proper title of it being a “Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey finished in Madeira Casks”. But the marketing around it, almost exclusively, calls it a straight rye. I get that it’s a long title to copy and paste over and over, but that’s what it is. If they had just blasted the Willett barrels with Black Noise, and no finishing, then yes, it could be a straight rye, but the finishing immediately removes that solitary designation.

Now that we have the nerd stuff squared away, let’s get to why you’re really here. To see how this thing performs in the glass. So let’s get to drinkin’ and hop right into the review.

Blackened x Willett Rye Madeira Finish – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: Kentucky, USA

Distiller: Willett
Finisher and Bottler: Blackened
Mash Bill: 51%+ Rye + Corn + Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak, ex-Madeira (finished up to 14 weeks)
Age: NAS (blend of barrels aged 4-8 years)
ABV: 54.8%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Batch: 1

Price: $140*

Tasting Notes

EYE
Copperish amber

NOSE
Dilly rye spice, oak, plummy dark fruit, sweet tobacco, clove and anise-heavy baking spice and touches of toffee, vanilla and copper.

A juicy and multifaceted aroma that keeps moving and shifting a bit. This is a fun whiskey just to sit and sniff.

PALATE
Oak, dilly rye spice, cocoa, leathery dried dark fruit, clove and anise-heavy baking spice with some bits of orange peel, sweet tobacco and hazelnuts.

A more complex palate that brings out some earthier and more darkly sweet tones. I like how the Blackened x Willett Rye Madeira Finish palate starts a bit dry and oaky, but opens to a nice balanced sweetness.

FINISH
Long -> Oak, dilly rye spice, leathery dried dark fruit and some copper and orange peels.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Good sense of balance, full body and a warm, slightly tannic-dry, feel.

Blackened x Willett Rye Madeira Finish – Overall Thoughts and Score

There is complexity and nuance to this and adding a bit of water enhances the whole experience. On the aroma, the vanilla moves up and gets a bit of a frosting sweetness and the coppery/metallic notes pop a bit more. The palate gets more of the fruity sweetness and moves from leathery to juicy and loses some of the dryness. Marketing quibbles and qualms aside, I like it. It’s a noticeably different product than the regular Blackened or Blackened Cask Strength.

On the whole, this Blackened x Willett Rye Madeira Finish is something new, different and tasty. It’s a great marriage of the talents and processes of two icons in the whiskey world and even if it wasn’t a good whiskey, I’d be happy it existed; I’d love to see more collaborations like this show up in the market. Some truly remarkable things can happen when people work together.

SCORE: 4/5

*Disclosure: The sample for this finished rye whiskey review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.