Review: American Metal Is a Whiskey Born From Car CultureAimed at motorcycle and hot-rod enthusiasts (and, naturally, whiskey drinkers), American Metal Whiskey serves as an extension of American Metal Customs in Danbury, CT, a popular custom car and motorcycle shop led by former Orange County Choppers TV star Josh Allison. While we’re not usually into celebrity spirits or brand extensions, we met the American Metal team during the week of WhiskyFest and dug what we tried (so did others; the first release already earned 92 points and a Chairman’s Award Finalist designation at the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge). So we wanted to get a bit more background on how a custom car/motorcycle shop branches into whiskey. “It’s all based off of the shop,” Allison tells InsideHook. “The shop is an all-inclusive one-stop shop covering the automotive and bike industry. We build high-end cars and motorcycles. We take the craft very seriously. And so we wanted to create this to embody the spirit of the shop and the industry and the culture.” Their flagship release, American Metal, ended up being a whiskey distilled in Tennessee that was then aged for some additional time in Vermont for a total of five years (it was also proofed down with water from Vermont and underwent a two-step filtration process). Let’s try it out. | 