Blackened American Whiskey unveils its new “Masters of Whiskey Series.” The inaugural release, Blackened x Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Madeira Casksis a result of the collaboration of two of today’s most innovative distillers, Rob Dietrich of Blackened and Drew Kulsveen of Willett Distillery.
Blackened takes its inspiration from the masterful collaboration between legendary Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and Metallica. This idea of a convergence of passionate master craftsmen who combine their talent and skills to create a distinctive expression is the basis for the “Masters of Whiskey Series.”
Known as the “Johnny Appleseed” of craft distilling, Pickerell used his expertise to help dozens of entrepreneurs start or restart small craft distilleries, one of which was Willett Distillery. In 2011, when the Kulsveens were looking to bring the Willett Distillery back online, Pickerell lent his insights and helped with logistics to get the distillery up and running. When Blackened was looking for a location to shoot its brand video, the Kulsveens graciously lent their distillery. It was then that Dave introduced the Blackened team to the Kulsveens, setting the foundation for this collaboration.
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 Dietrich and Willett Distillery’s Master Distiller, Kulsveen, from the Willett Family Estate Reserve Selection.
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.