soonershrink
Blackened x Willett (Master of Whiskey Series)
Rye — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
May 26, 2022 (edited October 8, 2022)
I was afraid I might like this one. Afraid because I hate celebrity garbage. And this has the added distinction of whiskey pseudoscience, what with the playing of music for the barrels and all. I've avoided trying the regular Blackened for that reason. But then Willett had to partner with them and give them some respectability. So @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington generously obliged my interest in trying this one.
The nose is full of cherry and vanilla, with the rye notes hanging out a layer or two below. The palate hits first with the sweet wine. Not sure how Madeira differs from Port, but it reminds a lot initially of Midwinter Night's Dram. Then the Willett rye flavors come in and swirl with the fruity wine notes. It's like a better version of MWND. When I had them on hand, I actually made a poorish man's version of this, using MWND and Willett 4 year rye. Not the same level of goodness, but it wasn't bad. This is really well done, and I'll be strongly tempted to buy this if I come across it. Thank you BOL for the opportunity to try this!
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@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I’m not sure. I’ll have to get to those blinds to find out and if not, then I’d certainly be interested in trying it. Thanks.
@pkingmartin
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington and if I didn’t send you a sample of the 12y then I definitely should, I know @PBMichiganWolverine liked it
@pkingmartin Down Home - they are the ones that bottled the 12y MGP you liked, only problem with this one is $$$ and outside of Canada I have no experience with rye that old
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington The Kennessee bourbon seems reasonably priced and could be worth a try based off drinkhackers review which rated it higher than their $200 2021 release of Tennessee bourbon. Who released the 17 year MGP rye? That’s a high price but could be worth it.
@pkingmartin I saw Drinkhcker rave about their Kennessee blend. At $60 I’ve thought about it more than I should. There is also a 17y cask strength MGP rye floating around for $300… unrelated but I’m tempted to spend several months worth of my whiskey budget to take a swing at it.
@pkingmartin yeah…all marketing gimmicks
@soonershrink @PBMichiganWolverine Kevin Hart just came out with a tequila too. Then there’s Payton Manning out there cold calling places to sell his Sweetens Cove which sounds like $200 sourced Dickel.
@soonershrink I hear that tequila is bad, not just overpriced. Also, it has an ugly label. Everything about it just makes me wonder why.
@soonershrink yeah …not sure I’d want to try that either…that has marketing bullshit written all over it
@PBMichiganWolverine Someone at the liquor store the other day asked if I had tried Kendall Jenner's tequila. I didn't know Kendall Jenner had a tequila, but thanks for the warning.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington i think I have a sample of this ( courtesy of you)…I need to get on it. This probably makes it 3 celebrity brands I’ve come to like…the other 2 being Offerman’s Lag, and Dylan’s Heaven Door.
@PBMichiganWolverine they almost marketed themselves out of me buying this - but if the label read “Willett 6y Rye Madeira Finish” it would have been on shelves at $300 - so maybe I’m glad they dumbed it down? The whole premise of sound wave enhanced whiskey likely is still bs witchcraft
I’ve not tried this yet, but the regular one was pretty good as well. Just when I was about to call them as marketing celebrity bullshit, they turned out out quite legit.