For those of you who missed out on claiming a bottle of “Evil Twin I”, ANTHRAX‘s now-sold-out, award-winning, high-end signature rye whiskey, you’re in luck. Today ANTHRAX‘s Scott Ian introduces “Evil Twin II”, the band’s just-released signature rye whiskey that shows off its maple, cinnamon, clove and black pepper notes.
“This is a delicious rye,” said Scott. “It’s smooth, it has a maple tone, but not sweet, it’s got a bite!”
Orders can be placed now at Mash & Grape. Place your order soon to help insure it will arrive on your doorstep in time to brighten your holidays.
Like “Evil Twin I”, “Evil Twin II” was produced by Hillrock Estate Distillery, located in the Hudson Valley Highlands in New York State. Only 222 bottles are available, and each one will ship with a special gift from the band.
Scott recently went up to Hillrock to check out the process, from the planting to distilling to the bottling. He sampled eight different rye whiskey barrels, and personally “pulled the bung,” emptying the “Evil Twin I” barrel.
“All eight were different from each other as every barrel expresses itself differently,” Scott explained, “and I chose my two favorites. The barrel that became Evil Twin I showed off espresso, caramel, vanilla and spice — the barrel that became Evil Twin II had maple, cinnamon, clove and black pepper notes that all played together really well — both barrels were delicious so we decided to do both! I’d put these ryes up against any rye on the market. The care and attention that went in to both of them, every step of the way, from field to glass, from the harvesting of the estate-grown rye to the distillation, to the beautiful bottles and the labels, each was made with the highest levels of perfection.”
“We’re so happy to be working again with ANTHRAX,” said Hillrock Estates‘ owners Cathy Franklin and Jeffrey Baker. “We had a lot of fun with the whole band on ‘The Healer’ bourbon earlier this year, and were impressed by their appreciation for delicious spirits during those tastings. With ‘Evil I’ and ‘II’, it was great that Scott was able to come up to Hillrock and be really involved in finding the perfect blends for ‘Evil I’ and ‘Evil II’. We’re sure ANTHRAX fans will enjoy both.”
“Evil Twin I” and “Evil Twin II” mark the second time ANTHRAX has worked with Hillrock Estate, as it produced the band’s signature bourbon, “The Healer”, this past June. Explained Ian: “We decided to release another whiskey because it seemed like people were very happy with ‘The Healer’. Where ‘The Healer’ bourbon was extremely approachable and smooth, the ‘Evil Twins’ are spicier, sweeter, richer, stronger, and bolder. So, when we say ‘Evil Twin,’ we mean it in a great way.”
“The Healer”, along with the band’s first two bourbon whiskeys, 2014’s “Indians” and 2015’s “The Devil You Know”, sold out within two days.
ANTHRAX has been writing new material for the band’s next release, expected out in 2021. The new album will follow ANTHRAX‘s 2016 release, “For All Kings”, the critically acclaimed, 11th studio album that became ANTHRAX‘s highest-charting debut in two decades when it entered Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart at No. 9.
