Blackened Whiskey

One of my favorites.

Rating: 14/23 The Metallica gimmick here is dumb, but I've heard that this is actually solid whiskey. For $50, I was not sure about buying it, but I found it for cheaper so I'm onboard. N: This smells rich but a bit young. It's toasty, but also fairly nutty. The thing that gets me though it that it's pretty dang flat. I get a bit of vanilla and it fills out a fair amount of the standard bourbon profile, but it's like all of the edges have been flattened and it's also a tad light and youthful at times. P: This tastes a lot like something I would blend and age (artificially) myself. I get some fullness from the wood with nuttiness and a bit of toastiness. Some odd sweetness and minerals come out from there. I get some vanilla and a bit of a sour mash tartness, but it isn't all that tart. There's some spiciness that is cinnamony and a bit peppery. I get a hint of apricot too and there are some definite minerals bringing down the fullness. This is a fairly smooth whiskey, but there is some mild harshness coming out of the pepper. There a faint edges of herbal notes, but I'm really reaching now. F: That kind of buckwheat nuttiness remains with faint sour and vanilla notes. It's kind of sweet, but there's quite a bit of mineral here too. - Conclusion - I don't actively dislike this, but it tastes very unsophisticated and young. There's too much minerality and the nuttiness is a bit off without any added complexity. I like the richness, but more complexity would be much appreciated. The minerality makes me think of George Dickel, but George Dickel Bottled In Bond has a lot more minerality. George Dickel has it as vitamins and it's more complex and enjoyable. Side by side, this is also far from the buckwheat of Corsair Grainiac and Corsair Buck Yeah. This is more of a traditional bourbon in comparison. This isn't a great bourbon in my book. I get that it isn't actually a bourbon, but it tastes like it's trying to be. This would be a great mixer, but it's just not a very interesting sipper. Russell's Reserve 10 is certainly more interesting and Wild Turkey 101 is too, though the latter is rougher. Early Times Bottled In Bond is more syrupy and sweet, but also kind of hits that bourbon flavor better. Garrison Brothers tastes more like bourbon and its individual flavors stand out more, but the apricot here is kind of nice and the smoothness is nice. It's a tough call between them but what I can saw for sure is that if I were given the option to buy one or the other at market price, I would definitely take this. Still, I'm getting a bit more of a popcorn flavor out of this that I'm starting to like. It starts to give me a bit of a Buffalo Trace vibe. I would definitely put this above regular Buffalo Trace. This might actually be closer to Blanton's. The richness here beats Blanton's, but the complexity and demonstrable age aren't as impressive. I keep coming back to how rich and decently full this is while being so smooth. This might actually be a better intro whiskey than Blanton's. I initially expected to give this a somewhat poor rating. It struck me as fine but nothing impressive. It's been growing on me and I'm now looking at a higher rating. I'm considering a 13 to just maybe a 17. Realistically, I'm leaning toward a 15, but I'm not sure. I really like the better complexity of Wild Turkey 101, but this does have some nice richness to compete with Early Times Bottled In Bond. I don't know; my preferences might be losing transitivity. This is less complex and mature than Eagle Rare. I think I'd take the Eagle Rare. Elijah Craig Small Batch is also not entirely filled out, but it's a lot woodier (bordering on over-steeped teabags). I've been all over the place on this whiskey. It's weird, but I generally like it. I'll go with a 15. At the end of the day, this already tastes like the start of a cocktail. Just throw in some angostura and rosso vermouth. After some more last minute side by siding, I'm afraid that I don't see this as high as a 15 any more. I'm thinking that a 14 is most appropriate. It's a 14 or a 15. Not going up to a 16 here.

Young and flat tasting, not bad, but not good, mediocre, just like Metallica's last few albums, if they'd put some spirit in this bottle, that would be ...and justice for all!

Fantastic band, amazing whiskey. You can taste the music