Looking to connect? I’m on Instagram or you may reach out to me via Email or Discord if you’d like to discuss bourbon, request reviews, or anything else.

One of the more exciting parts of whiskey blogging and reviewing is learning about producers I have no prior experience with. Sometimes this is just a brand or bottle that hasn’t been available in my area, sometimes it’s a producer who is new to the scene and is looking to get their product in front of the eager whiskey community. American Metal Whiskey being the latter.

Let’s go over the brand itself a bit before exploring the whiskey itself. As I mentioned in the intro, American Metal Customs is already a well-established brand in the custom car and motorcycle world–hell–you may have already noticed their presence on Instagram or YouTube if you’re at all connected to the car and motorcycle world. I can see why a brand who has such a connection to American craft metal work would be interested in another long-time American craft field like whiskey production.

So let’s talk about the whiskey itself. Right off the bat I notice that the label simply says “whiskey”. Not bearing any specific information about the type of whiskey, nor sporting a designation of ‘Straight’ are things that stood out to me (more on this in a bit). Overall the bottle and label designs are sharp looking and I feel like they deliver a perfect description and vibe of the brand itself. Now, for the liquid.

American Metal Whiskey is created using the finest ingredients and traditional methods that celebrate the art of selecting, aging, and blending, while the packaging creatively embodies elements of custom car and motorcycle culture. American Metal Whiskey currently offers a 90-proof whiskey that was born in Tennessee and aged in New England for up to five years, and a special limited edition run of 96-proof 10-year single barrel whiskey featuring hand-numbered bottles, that showcase their innovative approach to the craft.

I have two products to dig into today. The first is their 90 proof American whiskey distilled in Tennessee and sports an 80/10/10 mashbill and a $50 SRP. Their premium offering I have for review is Barrel #3, a 96 proof 10 year age-stated single barrel American whiskey that was distilled in Indiana, and features an 99/1 mashbill with an SRP of $215.

I want to touch on a few questions I asked American Metal Whiskey about the products, as I expect a few eyebrows to raise over the labeling. Below are the questions I sent their way, and the responses received.

Q: What is the age of the flagship product?

A: The target age is 48-60 months, aged at origin for 18 up to 48 months and finished aging in Vermont.

Q: What is/are the source/s of the liquid?

A: 90 proof — current bottling (single barrel) is 80/10/10 mash bill, born in TN finished aging in VT, and the 10 Year 96 proof (Barrel #3) is 99/1, born in IN aged 14 more months in VT (actually over 11 years old).

Q: The label doesn’t bear the designation “straight whiskey” which is a curious point that my readers will definitely want to clarify. Are there any additives/color/etc. added to the product?

A: American Metal Whiskey is 100% distilled spirit, aged in new American oak blended only with distilled water to reduce proof from barrel proof. No additives, no colors, no flavors, or anything else at all. American Metal Whiskey chooses not to designate “straight whiskey” for a number of reasons, including the flexibility in their blending process to balance a batch (if needed) using barrels from different sources. For example, they may find a barrel needs a higher rye “punch” to meet their taste specification, so they supplement with a small amount of higher rye whiskey to meet their taste goal. While this is VERY uncommon for them, they do want the ability to adjust the barrel selection and blending to achieve the always-awesome whiskey taste profile of American Metal Whiskey.

All in all, I appreciate American Metal Whiskey answering these questions, as some brands choose to leave those blanks un-filled, which only raises more questions in the whiskey world. That being said, I’m not entirely sure what to make of the reply about the ‘Straight’ designation. In a strictly technical manner of speaking, their answer isn’t correct. Assuming all conditions to be labeled ‘Straight’ are met, they could label this product as a blend of straights and be well-within the letter of the law.

Additionally, the back label doesn’t bear a state of distillation statement. “Bottled for American Metal Whiskey by Vermont Spirits Distilling Co.” doesn’t really cut it. I’d really like to see brands take a page from Barrell Craft Spirits–and many others–who clearly list the state (or states) of distillation on the rear label of the product. Not only does it help the consumer understand the product they’re buying, it’s a legal requirement. Granted, the TTB being asleep at the wheel and allowing products to slide labels through with opaque labeling–whether intentional by the brand or not–is another issue in and of itself…but I digress. Let’s taste and review the whiskey itself.

For their first foray into the whiskey world, I think American Metal has done a better than average job. The packaging itself is nice; however, there are a few things the whiskey enthusiast world is likely to take minor exception with: the lack of straight designation, and lack of a proper State of distillation on the back label being the top of the list. These are just identity issues in my view, and are corrected rather easily with some label adjustments to align more with the rest of the industry; ultimately, these issues don’t impact what is in the bottle, and that’s the most important thing.

The liquid itself shows promise. I was pleasantly surprised by their core offering, and I believe that with additional blending work and experimentation they will only improve this. I’m curious how many single barrel offerings they intend to roll out, and what variance a buyer could expect from one barrel to another; additionally, I’m especially curious if they are all 99/1 mashbill [presumably MGP] barrels. Thanks for reading along, I hope this review proved to be informative. Be sure to connect with me on Instagram or join Discord to continue the conversation. Cheers!

Be sure to subscribe to the Whiskey Raiders Podcast to hear Jay and myself sip whiskey (and more) and share our first impressions, tasting notes, and perspectives.

The Bourbon Finder thanks American Metal for graciously providing sample/s of their product and the images used in this post. Being able to try new things in the whiskey space, without strings attached, is an opportunity we greatly appreciate. Per our review ethos, we provide objective reviews and commentary on media samples of spirits and products; remember, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!

Our grading system: As mentioned in our About Us page, we’re excited to share bourbon with our friends, family, and readers. There are enough critics, cynics, and curmudgeons in the whiskey world as it is, so our goal is to foster the bourbon community in a positive way by bringing fun and entertaining content whenever possible–as such–we decided that applying precise scores to whiskey was simply too serious for us (and didn’t accurately showcase variability in taste from day to day). We use a simple grade school system to apply a grade to the whiskeys we review because we feel it is indicative of the whiskey’s grade for us on that particular day. A grade of a “B” today may very well be a “B+” or even a “B-” on another day, so rather than focusing on a precise score today that may not stand the test of time, we are just sharing our overall grade of that pour for that one tasting. Pour a bit and enjoy, friends, these are the good old days of whiskey!