Metallica’s New Whiskey Was Aged in Barrels Blasted With Music From Their Latest Album

Jonah Flicker
·2 min read
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Will subjecting barrels of whiskey to loud music while aging affect the flavor of the spirit? Metallica certainly thinks so: The band’s latest release from its Blackened Whiskey brand is an attempt to offer some proof by playing their latest album, 72 Seasons, at top volume with barrels directly in the line of sonic fire.

Blackened was created by Metallica along with the late Dave Pickerell, a master distiller, blender, and whiskey consultant who was involved with the creation of many other notable brands and distilleries. In 2019, Rob Dietrich, formerly of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, took over the role and the new Limited Edition 72 Seasons Batch is the latest collaborative effort. Like all Blackened expressions, this whiskey was subject to the brand’s trademarked Black Noise process, which basically involves blasting the barrels with a subwoofer playing loud music to agitate the whiskey and increase interaction with the wood as it ages. The whiskey is a blend of sourced aged bourbon and rye that is finished in black brandy casks, which are subject to this heavy metal pummeling.

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72 Seasons (the album) was played during the finishing period of 72 Seasons (the whiskey), a limited-edition bottle that is decked out with imagery from the album artwork. “Blackened was created as a way for us to connect with our fans and whiskey connoisseurs,” said Metallica drummer and cofounder, Lars Ulrich, in a statement. “This batch does exactly that. We know our fans have been waiting a long time for new music, and we want to celebrate this release with them in every possible way we can. This album is as much theirs as it is ours, and we’re excited to unveil this commemorative release of Blackened.”

This is the third Blackened release to get the Black Noise treatment with one of Metallica’s albums. “We did it with S&M2 and The Black Album, and now we’re doing it in a really fun way to celebrate 72 Seasons,” said Dietrich. “It’s kind of like we’re bottling key Metallica memories with these limited release batches.” Of course, the only way to really tell if each individual album is really making an impact on the flavor of the whiskey is to give them a try side-by-side. You can find the new 72 Seasons bottle for sale at websites like Cask Cartel and the original from ReserveBar if you want to see for yourself.

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