Blackened X Wes Henderson (Master of Whiskey Series)

This is more oak and cinnamon then anything else. There is a slight fruitiness on the front but it is immediately taken over by the heat of cinnamon. The finish is long and the mouth is coated in oiliness. I was expecting a lot more fruit flavors to come through after reading reviews. Adding an ice cube or a couple of drops of water brings this up up to a 3.25

The nose is characterized by crisp fruitiness, cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate continues the trend. Given its strength, it’s suprisingly light and refreshing. The fruit notes give way to delicate acidity, and then it finishes with a peppery note and the cinnamon lingers all the way to the end. As is common for cask strength whiskey, it’s loaded with flavor, but it’s also a surprisingly easy drink for 58.1 ABV. Overall, I consider it a big change-up, and improvement on the standard Blackened. Angel’s Envy founder Wes Henderson definitely makes his mark here with the port cask finish. The result though, is anything but what you’d expect given its labeling and profile. To make a long story short, this whiskey is not what you’d expect. Its a pleasant surprise.

NOSE Jammy/fruity, oak, cinnamon, caramel, touch metallic with an alcohol pop. Not a ton going on with the aroma, hard to get much out of it except the alcohol that keeps popping up over and over. PALATE Jammy/fruity, oaky, cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, roasted citrus, bits of cocoa, leather and marshmallow. There’s a roasty, almost ashy, quality to it that sits under a large dollop of jammy sweetness. FINISH Med-long -> Ashy oak, nuts, cinnamon and heavy fruity sweetness.

I've made a link to the specific BLACK NOISE playlist used on this whiskey, which I am listening to in it's entirety during this review. Drink along: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlLK8agEj0UdPZyvjR0Mzb2cSYCBf5obU&feature=share In celebration of Metal (Metallica) Monday, in addition to Metallica's upcoming newest full-length album to be released on Friday, I am so happy to support these ageless metalheads any way that I can. When I first saw this behind the counter, I only saw "Blackened" and then "Wes Anderson" before the price tag made for a hard pass. It also didn't help that I also thought Wes Anderson was an actor or other musician that I wasn't aware of or didn't care for. A few days later, during a sleepless night of gaming, I came across an article of this release, and became very excited about the potential connection with Angel's Envy. Despite their slight pretentiousness, Angel's Envy definitely led the barrel finishing game, especially in the iconic port wine barrel. Had I not have already had the American and rye expressions, I probably wouldn't have readily bought their first bourbon, especially at this price tag (which unfortunately isn't far off for the craft market at this age level). I'm not surprised that we weren't given the mash bill nor the finishing time, but with a 6 year age statement, cask strength, barrel finished, badass BLACK NOISE enhanced bourbon here, I think there's good reason to be excited. The color is fantastic, and although the body looks quite light in the sun, the hue is almost a deep rust with notes of crimson or even violet, and looks more like a high aged brandy than a fairly young whiskey. The nose is kind of unexpected, starting with medium ethanol burn, before turning into an earthy, watery, mossy note, like that of compost made entirely of red berries and grapes. The oak is surely present, but is more dry than sweet, really hiding the traditional caramel or vanilla from the bourbon barrel in leiu of more toasted and earthy notes. The ethanol really hits hard up front; be careful with the air flow on this one. The same earthiness from before seems to be the first flavor, but less watery and yeasty, instead tasting like mushroom cooked down with some black pepper. There's some rye around the gums, but only in the front, stopping around the teeth and not moving into the back of the mouth like higher rye content typically does. Speaking of rye, though, once I focus on it, it has a really hot and powerful spearmint flavor to it, like eating a slice of seeded light rye bread while chewing spearmint gum; if only there was more of this taste. The finish is hot as hell, and so far makes it hard to figure out where the port wine finishing comes into play as far as taste. A few more sips starts to reveal more and more raw grain, which is surprising that it's not more mellowed, especially at 6 years. There's the smallest little taste of sweet grape in the mouth before I swallow or breathe, and I think it may be this and the sweet, raw corn flavor near the finish that is the only tasted result of the port wine barrel. At the end of the day, this is a good tasting whiskey and a fun way to support not only one of the best metal bands still alive (we'll see what 72 Seasons has to say about that), but also a unique collaboration with a top bourbon distillery, especially with Metallica trying their hand at port wine finishing in Angel Envy's honor. I can't get over how cool the BLACK NOISE process is, and think it's even cooler that there is not only a different playlist for every whiskey expression so far, but that those track lists are released to the public to listen (and drink) along. Does all of that justify this price tag? Barely, and that's only because most of us have gotten used to the huge inflation of this market, with no way to fight back so far. I did see some other shops selling this for upwards of $135, and although some will pay that without thinking, I feel good about getting this at what Blackened asked for as MSRP, and feel this is more worth it than some of their previous offerings, "limited edition" or otherwise. Although I may not always reach for and drink Metallica, they'll live forever in my headphones and speakers. 🤘

Different and unique.