They’re one of the biggest bands in the world. They’ve sold and made millions.
Now, Metallica is pitching something new: whiskey.
According to a release, the whiskey was “first created in 2018 in collaboration with Metallica and late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, BLACKENED is a blend of the finest North American bourbons and ryes that have been individually aged for an average of 8+ years. Once blended, the whiskey is finished in black brandy casks.”
Now, here’s where it gets fun, and very “metal”!
The whiskey barrels are then “pummeled with the low hertz frequencies of Metallica’s music by the proprietary sonic-enhancement process called BLACK NOISE to extract more flavors from the wood.”
Yep, the metal makes it better.
Using a specially-designed subwoofer, Metallica’s music is played at a low hertz frequency, causing movement of the barrel and the liquid inside. This disruption forces the liquid to seep deeper into the wood and pick up more flavor characteristics from the barrel. Normally, the band picks the playlists to use for the BLACK NOISE sonic-enhancement method.
The name itself comes from the opening track of Metallica’s 1988 album “…And Justice for All”. Blackened (the song) is dystopian thrash classic about nuclear war, eradication of humanity, and complete destruction of the earth, as well as the loss of natural life. Definitely enough to make you pour a shot.
Remy Maxwell, from WCCO’s sister-station 104.1 JACK FM talked with Blackened's Master Distiller, Rob Dietrich who told him, “I’ve been very fortunate to have my dream job within my dream job. It’s pretty exciting to make whiskey, drink whiskey, talk whiskey, but I get to do it with my favorite metal band in the world. When they said you got the job, I was over the moon.”
The band is also no stranger to a bottle of liquor. Early in their career, the hard-partying band was dubbed “Alcoholica”, and was notorious for diving into the bottle while on the road.
Singer and guitarist James Hetfield has twice been to rehab, most famously during the filming of the documentary “Some Kind of Monster” in 2004, where he walked away from the band for 11 months to enter rehab and reconnect with his family. He quit drinking at the time, only to re-enter rehab again in 2019.
There are several versions of the whiskey featuring different playlists of music, different aging and different proofs. You can check out more here.
The Whiskey is available in Minnesota at Haskell's, Total Wine and several other stores across the state.