Metallica launch cigars to go with their whiskey

What goes with whiskey? That’s right, cigars. And metal. I couldn’t tell you the number times I’ve sat of an evening drinking a dram or two of Metallica’s whiskey – the ‘Ride The Lightning’ album playing on the stereo – and thought to myself “if only there was a Metallica brand cigar I could smoke with this”. Actually, I could tell you the number of times. It’s no times. But if I told you that, it would ruin the conceit of this whole paragraph, so I won’t.

Metallica’s Blackened American whiskey brand is launching cigars now, you see. Specifically, it’s a project driven by frontman James Hetfield and the Master Distiller of the band’s whiskey company, Rob Dietrich. They both like cigars and whiskey, so I guess it makes sense. To make it all happen, they’ve partnered with cigar maker Drew Estate.

“The collaboration began with James Hetfield and Rob Dietrich, who frequently enjoy cigars together after forming a close friendship through their work together on Blackened”, explains the Metallica drinks company.

“Dietrich and [Drew Estate’s] Jonathan Drew, whose friendship spans over a decade, always wanted to combine their talents to collaborate on something special”, it adds. “This seemed to be the perfect opportunity and became a passion project – bringing together three immensely talented and experienced cigar enthusiasts”.

“Samples from the Drew Estate portfolio were sent to Hetfield and Dietrich who kept cigar journals to critique the cigars and identify what they liked and disliked about each one”, it then explains “After two years of enjoying and sampling cigars together, the group decided on the exact flavour profile that would become Blackened Cigars M81 by Drew Estate”.

Have you got a cigar journal? Maybe you should start one. The Metallica-endorsed cigars are called Blackened Cigars M81 by Drew Estate, as noted in that quote there. Although I guess it’s probably easier to just refer to them as M81. They’ll officially go on sale in December. More info here.

Earlier this year, Metallica launched their latest Blackened whiskey, Rye The Lightning. And I still haven’t got over that pun.

Written by Complete Music Update