Whisky Advocate 93 WHA Top Whiskey of 2022 Rank 14
This whiskey, a spring 2022 release from Metallica and master distiller and blender Rob Dietrich, hits hard up front with an herbal and spicy nose. Fennel, anise cookies, and dank grains give way to dandelion and sweet grapes when water is added. The palate is crisp and spicy, showing great balance between the whiskey itself and the cask finishing. Lightning strikes again on the finish, which is extremely long and ties the entire sip together. More spice, more fruit, just more. Shane English


Master Distiller & Blender Rob Dietrich wanted to release a rye that demonstrates his evolution on his path as a whiskey maker. One that has depth, but still sessionable, approachable and most importantly, enjoyable to drink. Designed for rye whiskey enthusiasts while establishing this particular rye recipe to uniquely stand apart from the rye whiskey mainstream. The name for this release is aptly dubbed RYE THE LIGHTNING because the playlist used in the BLACK NOISE sonic-enhancement process is Ride the Lightning. But Rob Dietrich and Metallica didnt want to just use the original version they wanted to amp it up a notch. They chose a playlist consisting solely of the Ride The Lightning portion of Metallicas June 2012 Orion Music + More festival setlist the one and only time the band has ever played the album live in its entirety, albeit in reverse track order from the original album.

RYE THE LIGHTNING was double finished in Madeira and Rum casks. It is during the rum cask finishing that the whiskey undergoes the proprietary BLACK NOISE sonic enhancement process that uses the low hertz frequencies from Metallicas music to vibrate the barrels, causing a greater interaction between the whiskey and the wood, forcing the liquid further into the barrel and extracting more flavor and color. This expression has notes of brown sugar, honey, mint and hay followed by spice and wood notes from the rum cask finish.

The bottles label is emblazoned with a green soundwave to differentiate from the Blackened American Whiskey flagship and align with the historical significance of using the color green to characterize rye whiskey bottles.