Holy shit do I love Metallica. Seriously, likely my favorite metal or heavy rock band of all time. I do have the classic Blackened whiskey, but it's definitely not my flavor profile, and is a little weak for my tastes. When this one came out a few months ago (near my birthday), I do not have shame in saying that I begged a lot of people to get this for me as a gift. That did not happen, mostly because the pre-orders sold out almost immediately (why does nobody budget the correct amount of whiskey for pre-orders?), and it was far overpriced. Thankfully, I found it locally for far less, and I definitely couldn't resist. As I listen to the Ride the Lightning album (well, I cheat and am listening to the Call of Ktulu version with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra because it's amazing), I will enjoy this no matter what, because Metallica kicks ass and a rye is always better for me. There's lots of fresh rye grain on the nose, with an impressive spiciness for the relatively low proof. Candied cinnamon and a bit of citrus pop out, with the classic cut grass behind it. A great amount of caramel is also present, which I am guessing comes from the triple barreling of sorts. A light body is what starts off, but the rye grain is present with a sweeter flavor, likely from the rum barrel. There's also a very dry follower, which I attribute to the wine barrels. The gum penetration is moderate here, and the spice level is also moderate, but only because the flavors imparted by the barrels also deliver to an almost equal amount. The finish is pretty hot, but it ultimately ends with a dry finish, which does keep you coming back for more, to refresh the cycle. Maybe it's the music playing (very loudly) behind me, or because this whiskey is both delicious and unique, but I'm quite enjoying this. It's definitely not a front runner of any of my rye favorites, but it also isn't entirely in the rye category, since the Madeira and rum deliver their own flavor notes that definitely do come through. For ~$70, this is way steep, but if this ever dropped below $50, this would easily be both the most metal and layered rye whiskey out there, and created with no other method that can be rivaled by any other distillery, similar to how Metallica cannot be rivaled in their music; if there is such a rival, I definitely need to crank those tracks.