Blackened Whiskey

BLACKENED NOSE: Starts very UN-Metallica like with Light Sweet Corn, Vanilla Coke, and Jelly Beans. BUT give it about 10 minutes and it gets bolder and more dense. Corn Meal (due to the youth?), Pine Sap, Cedar, and Oak. It tries to be very good, but just misses the mark. The Empty glass was Honeysuckle and Leather. NEAT:Sweet and Fruit Forward (again, is this Metallica or Britny Fox?). Cherry, Plum, Vanilla, and Apple. A nice Peppery Oaky Spice emerges that keeps it from being overly sweet. The Brandy Cask Aging really comes through on the Longish Coating Finish with syrupy Amarena Cherry and Oak Spice. That Layering Coating is the best part of the experience. SPLASH: Nose and Palate gets an added note of Unpeeled Peach. Reduced the Oak Spice and the Coating Finish becomes less Syrupy and a little more Tart. Verdict: Price had kept me away from this, but my local ABC started carrying it in 375's. Thought it was worth a gamble. I was surprised by this one. More elegant than a Metallica Whiskey should be. I was expecting gimmicky (and I'm still not sure that the Sonic Aging has any real effect) but I thought it was really good. There is some youthfulness here that they are offsetting with the Brandy finishing, but it's done well. The coating cherry finish is right up there as one of the best I've had in a while. I could see picking up a full bottle of this at some point.