Enter Sandman: Metallica Celebrates ‘The Black Album’ With Blackened Whiskey Release
Metallica’s latest whiskey drop celebrates the 30th anniversary of their hit 1991 “Black Album.”
Metallica’s toasting to the Black Album’s 30th anniversary with a new expression from the rockers’ signature Blackened American whiskey line.
For the uninformed, Blackened—named after the album opener from 1988’s And Justice For All…—is a rye-bourbon blend that’s seasoned to a Metallica soundtrack as part of an “sonic enhancement” aging process dubbed Black Noise.
Playlists for different Blackened batches have included songs from the S&M2 live album featuring the San Francisco symphony, as well as band picks and favorite tracks of Master Distiller and Blender Rob Dietrich, who took over all sourcing, blending and cask-finishing duties after the death of acclaimed whiskey distiller Dave Pickerell in 2018.
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Instead of just releasing a bottle, Metallica has curated an entire box set in honor of their mega-popular release, which sold 35 million copies worldwide to become the highest-selling album of any genre in the past three decades.
The “Sweet Amber” itself, Batch 114, was treated with all 12 tracks from the album:
- Enter Sandman
- Sad But True
- Holier Than Thou
- The Unforgiven
- Wherever I May Roam
- Don’t Tread on Me
- Through the Never
- Nothing Else Matters
- Of Wolf and Man
- The God That Failed
- My Friend of Misery
- The Struggle Within
“Just like the record, The Black Album Whiskey Pack’s Batch 114 has been masterfully crafted and is heavy-hitting and well-balanced,” Dietrich said in a statement, “with buttery caramel and oak on first sip, rolling through notes of apricot and almond, followed by an earthy chipotle, walnut, and maple finish.”
Also included in the box set set is a album cover-adorned cocktail booklet featuring four elevated riffs on the hardcore combo of whiskey and lime juice used to make a Snake Bite, which also happens to be the name of lead singer James Hetfield’s signature ESP guitar. A Blackened American whiskey coin rounds out the intoxicating collection.
“So many things changed for us externally after The Black Album release,” said Hetfield “The perception of the importance of Metallica changed greatly. Obviously with songs like ‘Sandman,’ ‘Unforgiven,’ ‘Nothing Else Matters’ becoming embraced by a lot of the world, we became a household name. It changed our lives and hopefully helped the world connect.”
Priced from $49.99, the Blackened Black Album Whiskey Pack is available nationwide online now.